Mr. Bobby Kerr:

I concluded my work on this issue on Christmas Eve 2016. I have not really done anything since I submitted my report. I would like to recap on what I recommended with the collaboration of the Irish Postmasters Union and the company. I recommended to the Department that €56 million should be spent over a four-year period to regrade all the post offices into three grades. I suggested that the amount of money to be provided under the capital investment plan would vary depending on the post office involved. I proposed that a co-location incentive be introduced to encourage post offices to relocate to convenience stores or other locations. I recommended that a minimum payment should be guaranteed to smaller post offices, which currently do not enjoy such a guarantee. I suggested what the network should do over four years to be best positioned to survive. I proposed that €4 million from the €56 million fund should be allocated to pay for the closure of 80 post offices, at an average of €50,000 per post office. It seemed to me from my discussions with the company and the union that a number of offices wanted to leave the network and I thought this could be facilitated. I submitted my report when my work ended and I wished everybody well. I read about the latest modification of what was submitted in the newspapers and online. I am happy to contribute by answering any questions members might ask me.