Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I understand the point the Deputy is making. I know the Minister, Senator Harte and others are equally concerned. Everybody in Donegal has been affected by the historical legacy of partition, etc.

Let me put some statistics on the table. An Post has 1,144 retail outlets, of which 57 are company-owned and operated and 1,087 outlets are contract offices. A total of 146 outlets are postal agents. In 2009, there were just under 1,500 such outlets - 1,413 to be precise. According to this note, approximately 35% of all post offices could be classified as urban and 65% as rural. It seems to me that we must get a balance between access to services, to which all citizens in Ireland are entitled, and the commercial viability of a semi-State commercial company which must make commercial decisions. Having spoken to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources about this, I know the Government is committed to a sustainable post office network across the country. The An Post review takes account of local circumstances, including that people have reasonable access to post office facilities. Regrettable as the closure of the local bank branch in Moville is, the facility of the post office network to provide an alternative outlet for financial transactions is one that is of benefit to communities. I know it will take into account all of the factors involved and I know the Minister is acutely conscious of the Deputy's concern and that of other Deputies and Senators in the area.

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