Mr. Mark Griffin:

If we look at the post office network of 1,142 retail outlets it has huge potential as a front-line provider of Government services. One of the big issues I believe they need to look at is the whole banking sector, the standard bank account and that sort of service. As part of this we will be looking to see if additional Government services can be provided through the post office network, which are not currently provided. We need to look at the whole issue of procurement and that in directing additional Government services towards a post office network, we are compliant with public procurement guidelines.

It is interesting for our own Department. We are pushing the digital economy and the digital agenda - the facts are that consumers spend about €6 billion online every year, €700,000 an hour, 24 hours a day. Customer expectations are that they would be in a position to engage electronically with banks, Government services, post offices or whoever is providing services to them. The business development group needs to look closely at the digital agenda to see what way the post office network can engage further on that front. The programme for Government is crystal clear in regard to the future of the network. It wants the network to remain strong and robust. There has been a significant investment in IT infrastructure in recent years. Notwithstanding the concern among postmasters and the IPU and local communities - it is interesting that the level of closures is very low in recent years.