Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. The gentlemen are very welcome. As a leader of a trade union in a former life, I only wish I had the commitment the IPU officers have. Their work on behalf of the members is second to none.

The more questions we have heard this afternoon the more depressed I have become. I am almost about to go over to our guests and tell them to do themselves a favour by shutting down, going home and forgetting about it because it is just not going to work. I look at the services post offices provide. Mr. O'Hara made the point there about the community services post offices provide. I have been lost in rural Ireland and called into the local post office to get directions. Whoever gave me those directions gave me their time and got nothing for it in return. I certainly did not put my hand in my pocket and ask how much per hour I should pay for that. There is tourist information and everything else that was mentioned. There is the bereaved family. The first place they can go is the postmaster who will sit down with a widow or widower after a funeral and help them through the complexities of dealing with Government. Has the IPU at any stage quantified the effort in time post offices devote to those type of activities in order that it could be valued?