Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I accept what Mr. McRedmond has said about it being hard fought for, there is a necessity for An Post to look at its network again in light of the learnings from Covid. Consider a village such as Broadford. We are working very hard to get a sewerage scheme into the village and builders are again seeing opportunities to build homes for people in and around the village. It is on the cusp of a rebirth. It would be a shame to see a service like the post office go. Mr. McRedmond referred to the harp over the post office door. This has a very important meaning, which has the potential to encourage others to have faith in a village. Rather than see a village falling to complete rack and ruin and effectively becoming dilapidated with nobody wanting to be there, as we have seen in many locations, Broadford is not that village and it need not be. It needs the post office.

Maybe it needs another look at the kind of structure or office that is put in place in a co-located area. At one time there was the sub-office business model. I have spoken about this previously. I believe now is the time to look again at that kind of model of service. It might be greater than the Post Point and may not be the full bells and whistles of a full post office, but it could give enough to maintain that presence in a co-located fashion, to give the local community an acceptance that the service is there for them, especially the older and vulnerable. Would An Post look again at the sub-office model?