Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand that for a settlement of 500 people, An Post has taken the definition of a "settlement" from the 2016 census, which is 50 houses within 100 m of each other. That is a tight cluster of houses, which exists in few rural parishes. When most people heard the reference to 500 people, they thought it meant the parish. That has caused a lot of anger and confusion, because people thought if they had more than 500 people in their parish, they would be entitled to a post office. Clarity is needed on that.

At the outset, it was my understanding that co-location would be part of the review process. If somebody had another business or another premises and was prepared to host the post office,, which would make the post office viable, there could be a reprieve and the community could keep its post office. I understand that is not part of the review and I would like that clarified.