Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yes. That is what I think needs to happen. Until that point, I would have concerns about this issue. I had concerns coming here because we are all on the same page on this issue but we have not seen movement on it. To me, that sets off alarm bells. I am concerned that there is an unspoken plan in place whereby 900 post offices are considered not viable and we are going in the direction where a figure in the region of 500 will face closure. I firmly believe that is the wrong track.

Senator Dooley and others have spoken about the impact of an anchor institution with a State presence. The figure of €344 million was raised. I do not know what kind of calculation goes into that. This committee went to Shannon Airport on Monday. I drove back up through Clonalvy, County Meath, a small place of which most people will not have heard. It was one of the places that lost its post office in 2018. On Monday night, we were talking about how to save the school there. That is the type of thing that happens in rural areas. We lost other post offices and we do not want to lose any more.

One of the points I want to raise is that there is a perception that it is the small, rural post offices that are under threat. That is not my sense of the situation. I represent a number of what would be considered larger urban areas. Can I get the Irish Postmasters Union’s perspective on that?