Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

I commend the staff of An Post, who do an excellent job on a daily basis, and I support this Private Members' motion and the retention and expansion of the postal service. Some speakers have stated there is no national policy on the postal service, but I do not agree. Unfortunately, the national strategy is right wing and ideologically driven, which provides for the closure of small rural post offices and the privatisation of the service.

There are difficulties not only in rural post offices, but in bigger urban areas also. The small rural office network should remain, be expanded and continue to be the focus of life in a local village or parish. It should be upgraded and computerised, and postmasters should be properly remunerated for their work. The network is vital rural infrastructure.

In many urban areas, An Post is trying to take post offices out of the hands of the public service. Cahir has been threatened with the closure of its post office, which thankfully was stopped, but there are now moves to put the post office into private ownership, sell the building and withdraw the public service provision. The town has probably doubled in size in the past five or six years and it will grow even further if one takes into account the planning permissions being granted and population census returns.

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