Mr. Sean Martin:

We have cash, broadband, trust and we welcome the customer coming in the door, unlike some of the banks who will push the customer towards the machine rather than towards the friendly personal service. The State receives a banking levy at the moment in the region of €90 million. The banks are pulling out of rural Ireland and some are pulling out of the country. Let us say to the banks that we use a portion of that money so that people can access everyday banking in our communities throughout Ireland for the next three, five, six or ten years, and we are only looking at €12 million of that levy. The Government is not now paying anything towards the survival of the post office network but the banks are paying it to ensure that communities still have banking.