Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you for your leniency in letting me in, given that I am not a member of the committee. I appreciate it. I am a practising postmaster. Maybe I am not practising, given that I am here three days a week. I am a postmaster and I have a particular interest in the sustainability of the post office network. I was interested in what Mr. Daly said regarding comparing the incomes of postmasters and how they have decreased by an average of only 2% during recent years. When he was comparing it, it was not what might be described as a high income, given that every postmaster must provide an office for commercial activity and an office for mails. Accommodation, light and heat charges have increased significantly during recent years and commercial rates have increased significantly. It is not what would be called a very sizable salary. I am not saying this on my own behalf but for many of the postmasters I have been in contact with. I am surprised that we are only at 17% of State savings, considering the turbulent times we have gone through economically during recent years. An Post would have been perceived as having a very reputable brand, along with the Irish League of Credit Unions, with no offence to our banking friends, during recent years. I would have imagined this percentage would have been higher.

A number of post offices have been identified that will possibly never be sustainable, regardless of the level of new business generated. Will Mr. Daly quantify the number of rural post offices that will be unsustainable in the future?

My next question is addressed to the Irish League of Credit Unions, ILCU. The ILCU responded to the then call for submission on measures to address the housing crisis. The ILCU has in the region of €10 billion on deposit that it can invest. Has any progress been made in the two years since the ILCU made its submission on the housing crisis? The housing crisis has got worse. I am not interested in hearing about talks but have there been concrete proposals on how this money, that can be used to alleviate a serious social problem, will be used?

The Irish Postmasters Union has been doing a great deal of good work in the past number of years in promoting the significant role the post office network plays in a sustainable, vibrant rural community. In many rural communities there are no banks or credit unions outside of large provincial towns. In many of the villages, the final service that remains is the post office. I have grave concerns that when the post office services is gone from rural towns, such as the village I come from and many other villages across the county, that we will no longer have rural communities. They are the glue keeping rural communities together. In terms of the input to the Bobby Kerr report and previous reports, do the representatives from the Irish Postmasters Union feel any sense of urgency by Government to put in place a plan for a five year term to sustain the offices that are sustainable for five years? Given that responsibility has been spread across three different Ministers are we still procrastinating on the services and supports we can put in place to support the network?