Mr. Brian McGann:

I will work backwards with this set of questions, beginning with Deputy Healy-Rae. As far as we can see, what the Minister proposed in the Dáil last night amounts to little more than a recipe for doing nothing. The view among the postmasters in the Visitors Gallery was that it is another example of a Minister kicking the can down the road. What we asked for in our motion - with respect to those who are facilitating its passage, it is our motion - is action. What we have got in its place are some vague non-specific promises that a Cabinet committee might look at social policy and something might be done. Two years ago, we showed the Government that it could save €60 million over a five year period by implementing our motor tax proposals. What became of those proposals? Where is the action on the report this committee produced last year? As far as we can see, there has been none.

Many people find postmasters' local knowledge very useful, including the Garda Síochána. In terms of the Minister presiding over the vetting of post offices, the reality is that any post office which is not getting the business through the door will eventually close. The Minister might not sign a piece of paper to close the office, but if the business is taken away, the door will close. The Deputy knows this because he is in business the same as every other postmaster.

Senator Mooney referred to Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív's suggestion of framing contract tenders in respect of the provision of services and the accessibility of those services within a specific radius. That is a very sensible suggestion which would ensure people have access to services in accordance with their preference, whether online or over the counter. The Government has a huge role to play in the framing of those tenders.

Reference was made to the emergence of a cashless society. The reality is that people in this country are wedded to cash. I do not like walking out the door of my house without cash in my pocket because I do not know when the next banking system crash will occur. I do not know when I will be faced with an ATM that will not dispense cash because the banking system has collapsed. I know many customers of Ulster Bank who, a year or so ago, were left without the ability to pay for their weekly shopping because the system collapsed. That is why people want cash. In particular, people who do not have much money want cash because it gives them more control over their spending. When one has to decide between buying a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk or paying €10 off an ESB bill, cash offers greater flexibility and control. One does not want the bank pressing a button and taking money out of one's account.

It is true that people vote with their feet. The question is what we can do to encourage people to use our services. The first thing a shop owner does is make sure the products customers want to buy are on the shelves. People will not come in to buy bread if there is no bread on the shelf. One has to put in place the products and services that people are seeking. Banking is an integral part of the future of the post office network in terms of the delivery of welfare payments and other transactions people find useful. If postmasters are given the tools to do the job, they will get the customers in. The 800,000 welfare customers who come through our doors every week appreciate the services we provide and how we help them to manage the small amount of money they have to manage. They are fully aware of the services we provide. By expanding those services, we will attract many more customers.

I will use an analogy to illustrate my point and ask members to think about it. Some years ago people would not get on buses in this city because one could not go anywhere in them. A structure was put in place by the Government to provide bus corridors and now the bus service offers one of the most efficient methods of motorised transport. We are saying to the Government that an action plan is needed that will achieve a similar result, in tangible terms, for the post office network. An Post absolutely has to be driven to develop a better business model. In particular, the post office network needs to become a full partner in the banking system.

Deputy Healy-Rae is absolutely right in his point regarding the Department of Social Protection. We are repeatedly told that people cannot be encouraged to use post offices, but it is apparently acceptable, without any objection at all, to drive people into using the banks. We are simply asking for a fair opportunity. New mothers are being signed up to banks to receive their child benefit while they are still in the maternity hospital. Where is the post office being promoted? Why is the Department of Social Protection, as an arm of government, promoting the use of private profit-making enterprises over the post office network? We are mystified by that.