Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests and thank them for their presentation. The Chairman mentioned Castletroy post office. I have fond memories of the wonderful community that was built around the post office in Castletroy.

It is not all about rural post offices. Urban post offices are equally important. For example, I am told the one in Mount Merrion is likely to close soon, which is outrageous.

I compliment the IPU on the constant work it does on behalf of its members. I frequently have communications through the system and I compliment Mr. O'Hara and Mr. Martin, and those they work with, to ensure that we are constantly briefed.

Listening to the discussion, I am wondering if it is only Opposition members who are at the committee because I am hearing nothing but support for the needs of the postmasters and the post office system in general. There are Government Deputies and Senators here who have the wherewithal to bring their influence to bear on the needs of the post office system and, importantly, the role the post office plays in community life and has played since its inception. The time for talking is gone. I agree with Deputy Lowry. It is time to put money into the system and get the post offices up and running.

I am deeply concerned about the duopoly that exists in the country. The idea that we would have only two pillar banks, which can dictate the pace while we have a perfectly viable community base throughout the country in our post office system is wrong. We need to develop that.

A number of questions have been raised with me and I believe Mr. O'Hara should have an opportunity to respond to them. They do not sit easily with me. They certainly do not portray the IPU, of which I am aware. There is a suggestion that it was not fully behind the postmasters during the establishment of the new contract and that it induced members to sign up to a contract that effectively gagged them. I find that difficult to believe but I believe Mr. O'Hara should have an opportunity to answer that question for the people who have raised it with me.

There is also some suggestion that Mr. O'Hara is not really behind the introduction of community banking. Everything he has said today would suggest that he is 100% behind developing a community banking system and becoming a force in banking and community banking.

I will conclude on that but I want to take the time to once again compliment Mr. O'Hara in particular for the way in which he represents the organisation and to wish his president, Mr. Martin, all the best. I have been president of a union and it is not a comfortable place to be, very often, so I wish him well as he moves through that role. I thank their communications people also for keeping us up to speed.

I am sorry I had to ask Mr. O'Hara those questions but if people are throwing these comments about it is important that he is given an opportunity to respond this morning. That is it for the moment. I may come back in with a supplementary question.