Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Daly for clearing that up as there is a lack of clarity on the ground on the issue. The business model will evolve and the post office must consider the social responsibility that is now of greater importance than before. I can think of particular areas where AIB and Bank of Ireland have closed facilities and one of my Government colleagues referred to the idea that 95% of people are within 5 km of facilities. What about the people outside that range? I know the post office provides some services with AIB. The Government has an approximate 16% stake in Bank of Ireland; I sit on the finance committee and we will have the chief executive, Mr. Boucher, before it soon. Is there anything we should impress upon these people regarding services that can be provided by the post office?

The Department of Finance and the Department of Social Protection are relevant here and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is involved because of passports. The Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Agriculture, Food and the Marine have a number of payments, so has the post office engaged with them to develop a wider ambit of offerings? Perhaps people could look at the post office not as a place to post a letter but a one-stop shop for rural Ireland in accessing facilities and making payments.