Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and Mr. McRedmond. I do not question their commitment to resolving the problems of An Post. I represent the constituency of Tipperary and like every other county we have taken more than our share of closures with the closure of eight post offices in Ballingarry, Clogheen, Coolbawn, Gurtnahoe, Littleton, Newcastle, Templetuohy and Upperchurch. The word "voluntary" has been much used and emphasised but effectively the real position is that the postmasters union has been put into a corner and the postmasters and postmistresses saw this as the only opportunity they had to exit the system. There was a veiled threat that if they did not take the package then their contracts would not be renewed. That is the way it is being perceived in rural Ireland.

Mr. McRedmond talked about a protocol, as well as procedures and an appeal process. I do not understand. Could he explain what the protocol and procedure was in respect of the closures - was it simply because a postmaster requested it? The post office in Littleton, County Tipperary, for example, was closed. Mr. McRedmond said the criterion is that we should have a post office for every area of population over 500. Littleton is down for closure and yet according to the census it has a population of 1,200 people. What process came to the conclusion that Littleton should be closed? The same goes for many of the post offices that have been closed in County Tipperary. Who adjudicates on the appeal process and determines whether a post office should be closed if an appeal is lodged?

Mr. McRedmond also used the word "consolidation". What has happened in these efforts to consolidate is what most agencies in Ireland have done in recent times - rationalisation and centralisation. This has meant that rural Ireland has suffered because of those decisions. We need to remember again that post offices are an essential part of the fabric of rural Ireland. They are a focal point and a community hub and have a beneficial binding influence on local communities. When these decisions are made to take services from local communities, as usual, it is the older people, the poorer people and those who depend on the State for a living who, because they do not have a bus service or public service transport, have to pay for a taxi to go to the nearest post office to do their business. That may be 15 km away. In Tipperary, the closures in these villages and parishes have been greeted first with dismay and that has been followed by anger, resentment and public protest. The general consensus in rural areas is people feel they have been abandoned by the Government.

I also want to be reasonable and fair in my comments. The crisis in An Post has not just dropped out of the sky. It has developed for at least 15 years. We have been cautioned and warned about it but several political Administrations have proceeded to show political neglect and not invest in the system. That is why we are where we are at the moment. Over the past 15 years, we have also had exhaustive assessments, analyses, reports and recommendations but nothing was actually done. The one conclusion and common thread in every report written was that the post office network, as it presently functions, was not sustainable in the long term because it was non-violable. It needed to be remodelled. I accept that Mr. McRedmond has shown great initiative and that he is doing his best to expand the range of An Post services. It is welcome, as the Minister mentioned, that this has been discussed at Government level this morning and that online services will have the support of the Government. The Government must, however, empower the post offices to broaden the range of activity to increase revenue. Post offices must also be allowed to diversify into the financial services sector and into community banking in particular. Before Mr. McRedmond came in we heard good, logical and common sense reasons why community banking should be part of An Post in future.