Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

Will An Post update that correspondence and send a copy of it to the committee so that we can deal with that issue? Based on what colleagues have said, it seems the social component is the issue. How is the social component of post offices measured? How can that be done in a way that makes them financially viable? It is an intangible service. Trying to put a value on it is difficult. From An Post's point of view, how is the social component, which is not all transactional, community-based - when I was young, my mother was the stand-in postperson in Portroe. I had to go and deliver the post as a young teenager. Committee members are finding out a lot of different things about me in this role. How can we ensure the Government understands the community role? The closure of 40% of post offices is not acceptable. There are already other closures. Is it the case that until we have the NDP timeline, which is now October, current closures should be stopped? The very model could change if the Government supports what the postmasters are saying and what An Post says it supports. It would be very unusual if the Government did not support it. Should we be looking at a pause on closures until then?