Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our witnesses and thank them for their presentations. We all know that for years our post offices have been allowed to wither and die. Most post offices are under the threat of closure. An Post is worn out from analysis. It has been flogged to death by Government indecision. An Post has been the subject of a mountain of reviews, assessments and evaluations and numerous reports. Far-reaching recommendations to rescue the service are piled high without any implementation. Successive governments have made positive noises and did absolutely nothing.

In considering all the data on record as to how to save the post offices, it beggars belief that last week the Government decided to establish yet another interdepartmental group to examine the feasibility of directing more government business to the post office network. There is nothing new in this. It has happened before. It is another fudge. Over many years, report after report declared in emphatic terms that An Post outlets were non-viable and faced closure.

The nub of the crisis is that under the current business model, activity does not generate sufficient turnover and income. There is no profit to pay for the overheads. Throughout Tipperary and the country, the majority of post offices remain on financial life support only through the selfless and tireless efforts of the local postmaster. To survive in any business there must be products and services to meet the demands of the consumer. The commercial offerings at An Post are outdated, outmoded and no longer desired by the consumer. To add to this, An Post has been curtailed in its efforts to diversify and facilitate additional business through its network. It has been suffocated by Government inaction. It has been shut out by vested interests.

Back in 2016, I signed a motion with the independent group and it was unanimously agreed by the Dáil. I signed another motion with my colleagues in the Regional Group last October. We set out a range of proposals to support An Post in the roll-out of new services and the delivery of a strategic plan to ensure its financial viability. This included the provision of banking and financial services as part of a community banking model. The motion was accepted by the Government and the Dáil but there was no follow-through. The Government must stop sidestepping the issue. The Government must step in as a matter of urgency to create market conditions to allow An Post to grow and develop a wide range of services that would be supported by the community. With Government support it is still possible to revitalise An Post. An Post has the personnel, visibility, facilities and infrastructure to adapt and deliver a new sustainable model of business. The time for pretence is long gone. We need immediate and resolute action from the Government.

In the short term, the Government should make available an emergency fund and a fixed payment to avoid collapse. The precedent is there if it follows the example set by the then Minister, Deputy Naughten, when he provided €30 million. The model to channel the funds to An Post exists. If the Government wants An Post to survive and provide a public service, it must be willing to recognise the value of that public service and pay for it.

I am concerned. I strongly support and am an advocate of a community bank. Since Ulster Bank pulled out we have a duopoly with Bank of Ireland and AIB. A lack of competition in the sector makes life very difficult, in particular for small businesses that are expected to take out a loan and give personal guarantees. I would like the witnesses to comment on whether Bank of Ireland and AIB have effectively sidelined and spancelled An Post from participating in a future arrangement with a third banking force. For the type of moneys that will return to the postmasters, and in general to An Post, I do not understand why they have gone in so blindly to this arrangement. It suits the two banks perfectly well to have An Post under their arm. Do the witnesses have a reaction to this?