Ms Debbie Byrne:

I will take this question. Postmasters and postmistresses retire and it is An Post's job to work to replace that contract. To give the Deputy an idea, we had more than 60 resignations last year. We work with businesses on the ground to replace those and we fulfilled and replaced the vast majority of those 64 offices last year. This shows that in most cases there are people willing to take on the contract. Some see it as an extension of a shop, etc. A resignation does not mean a closure. We just have to work hard with the community and various retailer groups to make sure we replace that contract. We very much see that as An Post's role and we work diligently on that.