Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the representatives for taking the time to come here to make presentations to us this morning. I will respond with a quick overview of those presentations. I would say to the representatives from two banks, which, quite rightly, are described as our pillar banks, that we are approaching the end of what has been an exceptionally difficult period economically for the country. I come from rural east Galway and I deal predominantly with small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and assist them as best I can with whatever advice and support I can give. A number of these enterprise are still exiting that very difficult economic process. One could argue that if they have survived the past eight to ten years, the future is probably quite bright for them. However, many would have some significant legacy debt overhanging their businesses. I ask the two banks to be as considerate and as supportive as possible when dealing with those SMEs because they are, in the main, family-owned businesses that have been in existence for generations. They very much form part of the economic fabric of our towns and villages. They deserve whatever support they can get because of the commitment they have made to working hard to sustain their businesses and keep the overall economic vibrancy of their towns and villages alive. They have come through an exceptionally difficult period. With a little of support, leniency and breathing space, I am confident that a large number of them can survive and thrive into the future. If that policy could become part of the mechanism for dealing with those SMEs that are still struggling, it would add considerably to our national effort to ensure that the recovery extends to every single town and village throughout the country.

I thank the representatives of the credit unions for their presentation. I compliment them on the exceptional success of the personal micro-credit scheme. It is a wonderful example of the State and the credit unions collaborating to support people who find themselves in an exceptionally difficult economic environment and who would normally resort to moneylenders that charge punitive interest rates and end up having difficult relationships with the latter. The credit unions stepped in and found a mechanism to support people who need very small amounts of money at particular times of the year. It is an exceptional success and I congratulate the representatives on it. I hope the remaining credit unions throughout the country that have yet to embrace this opportunity will do so as quickly as possible.

Turning to the representatives of An Post and the IPU, I reiterate what Deputy Ó Cuív said. I will not repeat it because he was on the button in terms of what is happening in an increasingly digital world. It is exceptionally important that the IPU, An Post, the State and the Government work together and acknowledge that we are living in an exceptionally changing world. I come from a very small rural community. I was raised in the middle of a bog in east Galway in a place called Attymon. We had two post offices and now we have one. I cannot recall the last time I set foot in that post office. I have had no need to do so. There is a wonderful postmaster there doing great work, but I do not need to be there for the majority of the 52 weeks of the year, and neither do my neighbours. The question is should we continue to pursue an outdated model of engagement that is no longer necessary for the vast majority of people, including individuals like my mother who is 75 years of age and who uses her iPad, on a daily basis, to do her banking, check her balances, pay bills and check the price of a train ticket? She does all her engagement with her bank and with various organs of the State on her iPad. She is not unusual in doing that. People might describe her as such but she is not. A rapid change is happening within rural Ireland and, as we move to the point where we will hopefully have excellent broadband coverage in the near future, the speed of that change will increase even more.

The union and An Post should acknowledge the change that is happening and look for opportunities within it. Pursuing an outdated model of engagement that is no longer relevant to customers who are voting with their feet in not visiting post offices is a futile exercise and a waste of time and energy. They should focus on the strengths of post offices to see what opportunities are available in offering services where personal face-to-face engagement is required. However, they should not insist on sustaining or promoting an outdated model of business engagement that is simply no longer relevant to the vast majority of people.