Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. As he is aware, all agencies right across the Government are pushing for online services, the best example of which is the medical card system, which has been centralised in Finglas. The difficulty is that while the Government attempts to centralise everything and put everything online, the penny then drops. The Minister should clarify whether he is aware that the Health Service Executive, HSE, recently informed Members that the centralised system does not work and it now intends to establish a nationwide network of offices to provide face-to-face contact. At that stage, did the Minister make a suggestion to the HSE about using the post office network to provide such face-to-face contact? Postmasters nationwide possess a unique skill set and can do such work.

See this speech in context