John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I understand it is not a ministerial decision to close any post office but whatever decision is taken must be taken in a transparent and open way, with consultation. That is not happening and that is relevant in Knockmore. In terms of the financial crisis, we saw last week the likelihood that some banks will close in various small towns. In terms of the household charge, for instance, many people would like to pay it in their local post office but that has not been possible. That is a wider debate but the people in Knockmore have not been given a chance to access some of the services the Minister of State spoke about and which I would support putting into the network of post offices. I understand the Minister cannot reverse the decision but he can ask the board to re-examine the position, and I ask the Minister to do that.

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