Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are two matters I wish to discuss, the first of which is the broader issue of the time between Second Stage and Committee Stage. It is unfair that there is such a tight window between the two Stages and there is no reason for it. There is no urgency for the Bill to be completed by the end of the week. The idea behind it is that it is supposed to be a more considered measure than the (No. 2) Bill introduced at the end of last year, on which the debate was guillotined by the House. The Minister will be aware of an issue that has come to the fore in the last couple of days, that the compensation of those who were neglected when under the auspices of the State, for example, young people who were compensated by the HSE owng to neglect, is subject to means assessment by her Department, even though the compensation of every other victim such as the victims of Magdalen laundries and so forth is exempt from calculation under the social welfare system. We are not learning from the past in ensuring mistakes made in the past are not repeated in the future. It is disappointing that provision has not been made in the legislation and I hope the Minister will reconsider the issue in advance of Report Stage.

The amendment before us seeks to refer to An Post rather than "payment service provider". There are genuine concerns among the public about the operation and viability of the sub-post office network. I received a telephone call just before this meeting about Cappataggle sub-post office in County Galway. It has been given one month stay of execution following the passing of the postmistress. It is not good enough that a guillotine automatically hangs over a sub-post office as soon as the postmaster or postmistress passes away.

There is a far greater argument for the retention of the sub-post office network than has been articulated to date - to deal with the issue of fraud which has been mentioned by previous speakers. Tremendous work is done by my constituents in the control section in Carrick-on-Shannon-----