John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I wish to share time with Deputies Crowe, Breen, Healy, Connolly and Cowley. I am pleased to speak on the running down of our post office network. I have repeatedly submitted questions, motions and requests for adjournment debates on this issue over the past few months. On each occasion it was ruled out of order because the Minister is not responsible for An Post. However, on 11 May, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs told Deputy Cuffe that "the Government is committed to maintaining a viable network of post offices throughout the country". How can the Government be committed to an objective but take no action on it and answer no questions about it? The Government is presiding over the post office network withering away.

This problem is not just a rural phenomenon. Residents in Dublin 6, in the constituency of Dublin South East, have seen three post offices close in the past few years. Terenure post office closed its doors in 2003, inconveniencing many people in the area. Earlier this year Kenilworth post office, on Harold's Cross Road, closed due to the death of the postmaster. Rathgar post office closed when rent on the premises increased dramatically. In each case, An Post advertised for people to take on the contract for the post offices but no suitable candidates have been found. An Post is continuing the search but can local people be confident these services will be restored?

My constituents in the area must travel to Rathmines to deal with simple matters such as registering a letter or collecting social welfare payments. I do not expect all Members to be familiar with the geography of Dublin South East but it is quite a trek for elderly residents of Terenure or Rathgar. Older people are disproportionately affected by closures.

The Government seeks to portray itself as caring for older people but essential services for elderly people are being run down. My constituents regularly receive election literature from Fianna Fáil candidates emphasising issues affecting older people. My constituents are entitled to ask the candidates what the party is doing to preserve essential services that older people use. That Rathmines post office is the only port of call for so many residents and that has created problems. It was busy enough without having to deal with additional business. Queues and waiting times have increased. The post office is no longer open on Saturday afternoons. The number of post boxes, and the number of collections from them, is also decreasing. How can this be anything other than a serious decline in public services?

The facts are stark and the figures released by the Irish Postmasters Union leave no doubt that the network is in decline and the Government is doing nothing to halt it. The IPU figures show how many postmasters are barely scraping by. Hundreds of members are earning less than the minimum wage and working 50 hours per week. Some 35 members earn less than €8,000 per year. Such post offices must be considered at risk of imminent closure. Terenure, Rathgar and Harold's Cross are busy urban villages with plenty of footfall and customers. If the contract for running such post offices is not attractive enough to draw suitable candidates, what hope is there that the post office network can be maintained?

The deal offered by An Post is not attractive enough and the responsibilities and risks are too onerous. Prospective post masters must find a great deal of money to secure the franchise and the return is uncertain at best. There are serious security fears, especially the so-called tiger kidnappings. These problems require imaginative solutions.

I suggest the Government stops sitting back while the network withers on the vine. If the matter is left to An Post, the outcome is clear. The major banks decided that it was in their commercial interests to reduce the number of branches. On a commercial basis, An Post will do the same. It is up to the Minister to intercede. He should stop talking the talk. It is time to introduce a number of one stop shops combined with post offices, as suggested by the Green Party.

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