Mr. Ned O'Hara:

We represent the postmasters who provide the post office service, referred to by the representative of An Post. Some 1,100 of the post offices are run by postmasters who are independent contractors. The post office network is a national asset that is owned by the people and is a key resource to address many of the challenges faced by rural areas. It can also provide good value for the Government and taxpayer in doing so.

The network can offer expanded State and financial services, and innovative social and community services. We thank AIB, which is one of the financial services that uses the post office to transact business for the 400,000 customers the AIB representative mentioned. We enjoy the trust and good will of the people we serve. The people we serve want their local post office to stay open. We collected 500,000 signatures last year and handed them in to Government. A recent journal.iepoll indicated that 82% of people wanted the Government to do more business through the post office.

An Post referred to the level of decline in transactions. This affects the post office network which is facing a financial crisis. The current annual income of postmasters, which includes all the costs they incur to provide the service - rent, rates, employee costs etc. - is forecast to drop by a cumulative €35 million over the next five years. The Government, as the biggest customer and owner of the network, needs to make decisions now to invest and secure the future of the network by implementing a transition plan. Postmasters meet the public every day and they tell us they want us. We live in a democracy. We expect the Government to listen to the people and implement what they want.

The post office network needs important Government decisions now. I will use the word "now" several times during the presentation because the problems facing post offices have been well aired. The network, which is owned by the people, is part of the fundamental economic and social fabric of the country. The current changes happening in the country are damaging communities which feel their views have been ignored by successive Governments. We feel this was reflected in the result of the last general election.

Rural communities, in particular, want support to help stop the negative multiplier effect on their communities as different services are withdrawn from their localities. There is a gradual withdrawal of services, including Garda stations and banks, resulting in fewer jobs. If people can afford to, they leave. People have to travel further for services. The post office then closes. There is a negative knock-on with reduced footfall, the local shops and pubs closing, young people becoming more disillusioned, more people leaving and we are in a never-ending downward spiral.

The communities we serve recognise that post offices currently serve as a magnet in retaining footfall in towns and villages and in some cases in attracting footfall. When the services of post offices are withdrawn, there is less incentive to visit or stay in that town and village and other businesses suffer. The State, as the owner of the post office network, has a major role to play in addressing and redressing the issues faced by these communities. Communities can, and do, experience significant barriers in accessing State services. The post office network currently provides sensitive and secure services, and is well positioned to address gaps in the provision of State services and to be developed into a network of community hubs.

The report into the post office network by Bobby Kerr and the business development group identified community participation and safety, health services, transport services, financial services, social enterprise services and Government information services which could and should be provided through the post office network.

We believe the post office can become the "State-on-your-doorstep" for the communities that have difficulty in accessing State services. All Government payments should be made through post offices, including those related to the Department of Social Protection, motor tax, Health Service Executive, CAO, third level fees, fines and licences. We have done research in typical towns with a population of about 800 people and no Garda station and no bank. People in those towns have told us that we should be in a position to supply and complete all Government forms. They should be qualified to verify people's identities and become peace commissioners, for example. We can operate a standard An Post bank account. We can do counter transactions for all the commercial banks. We currently do them for AIB. We take lodgements for Ulster Bank. We currently do not do anything for the other banks.

We can become a venue for remote health checks in the future and, obviously, immediately for smaller health checks. We can become prescription drop-off points. We can provide transport information. We can book transport. We can pool cars and provide meeting points.

Our survey indicated that people felt the need for ICT training. Everybody has a PC at home; they do not necessarily know how to use it. It can be done locally. We can provide broadband access. We can provide citizens and tourist information.

All these services will require Government investment - both current and capital. We believe the level of investment required will provide good value for the people and for the taxpayer, but decisions need to be taken now. All the issues involved have been considered at length by the post office business development group set up by the then Minister, Alex White. Bobby Kerr was appointed in December 2014. The report was published in January of this year. Two working groups were set up. One, chaired by Bobby Kerr, had its initial meeting on 4 February. The second, chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, had its initial meeting on 27 July. There has been no concrete action from either group to date. We have talked about it and identified this, that and the other but there is no plan to do anything.

As this talking continues, the situation continues to deteriorate. The search for an ideal solution is never-ending; there never will be an ideal solution. We want to plan for what has been identified. Enough research has been done. We want a five-year plan to be renewed annually, and we need that plan identified and implemented now.

Post offices are at breaking point because of the reduction in transaction levels and the collapse of the network is imminent. Once the post offices are gone they are gone. Individual postmasters are contractors; they are under intense pressure to maintain the post offices. Some of them do it because the business has been in the family for years. However, they need urgent decisions regarding the increase in costs they are facing. They have increased rent, increased staff costs and other increased costs. Postmasters are currently subsidising An Post, the Government or the communities they serve in providing the services because they are doing it out of their own pockets.

Post offices are ideally placed to provide a significant contribution in the context of the challenges faced by rural Ireland and can provide good value in doing so. The following is required from Government: appropriate investment to protect the network; a comprehensive five-year plan; and additional State services to be sanctioned. The State owns the post offices and we cannot provide services unless it sanctions them. Additional financial services could be provided. New social and community services must be tested and delivered, particularly in rural areas. We ask the committee to request that the Ministers for Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources and Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, and the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, act immediately to ensure that the Government takes the necessary decisions now.