Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that there are two pieces of work to be done. My recommendation to the committee will be to begin by establishing a dialogue with the Government to ensure, insofar as we can, that a PSO levy or a funding model - one can call it what one wishes - is put in place. The committee should then work with all involved, including postmasters, communities etc. to see how we can make that sustainable in the long term based on transaction activity and the roll-out of services. Listening to some of the soundings from the Government, I am a little concerned that the two issues are being conflated. The only outcome from that confusion will be more post offices closing in the intervening period.

I think we have reached a point beyond which we cannot go. There must not be any more post office closures Those that have closed since Christmas, including the one in Broadford, must be reopened. We must maintain the network at its current size and we must find the model to facilitate that. In the first instance, funding must be issued by the Government to An Post to maintain it. The second step is to work on a model of services that will meet the needs of the communities post Covid. Under the direction of the Chairman, the committee can facilitate that work.