Mr. Sean Martin:

I suggest that the next time we have a committee meeting, if there is one, we have representatives from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, because that is the most fundamental part of the post office network. Not only does the post office play a huge social role, but economically it plays a huge role in local communities because the money handed out locally in cash is spent locally. That sustains and creates jobs. Unfortunately, the Department has been directing, encouraging and coercing many of its customers to go online and into commercial banks. If it continues to do that, irrespective of the services into which we expand, the network will collapse.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is hugely critical to the post office network. No one is trying to stop the tide that is online business. However, at times we need to take a step back and we need to understand what type of society we want. The society we want is a society where we have face-to-face contact and local services in local communities. If welfare is taken from the post office network, we will collapse that local community and service. It appears to me that this is a programme or campaign on the part of Government to phase out the elderly. This is wrong and it will have huge implications for society. I note that the biggest economy in Europe is Germany's where 80% of transactions are in cash. Why? It is because the Germans know and understand the value of cash.

We need to take a step back and understand there is value in delivering cash to communities.