The following motion was moved by Deputy Seamus Healy on Tuesday, 25 February 2014:That Dáil Éireann: recognises:— that the post office network is a unique social, cultural and financial institution that is essential to our local communities and the country as a whole; — the vital contribution the post office network makes to the Irish economy; — the fact that the post office network employs over 3,000 people throughout Ireland; — that the post office network is the backbone of both rural and urban communities; — that, as they stand, the Department of Social Protection’s plans for the electronic transfer of social welfare payments poses a serious threat to the future of the post office network; — that without the income derived from the Department of Social Protection and the National Treasury Management Agency’s contracts, the post office network will be destabilised in terms of its viability; and — that it will directly cause a reduction in cash payments at post offices which will ultimately lead to many closures and job losses throughout the country;acknowledges:— the specific commitment in the programme for Government to ensure the sustainability of the post office network; — the party wide acknowledgement of all elected representatives that the network provides a vital national strategic asset; — that the key to the continued sustainability of the post office network is that An Post be equipped, through the provision of a full banking infrastructure operated by An Post, that will enable the network to facilitate the Department of Social Protection strategy to move to e-payments; and — that the 18% of Irish people that are unbanked and the 23% that are not online rely solely on the post office network’s services; andcalls on the Government to:— produce a comprehensive action plan, setting out the measures to deliver on their strategy, and commit to complete the action plan within three months of the date of this motion; — instruct each Government Department to implement, through the post office network, the business identified in the Grant Thornton and Joint Committee on Transport and Communications reports to underpin the sustainability of the post office network; — commit that all tenders involving over the counter transactions will be decided on the basis of both social and economic policy; — commit to implementing a new banking service that will be available through the post office network and operated by An Post; — commit to a once-off capital investment fund for the further modernisation of the post office network to enable the widespread provision of banking facilities in rural and disadvantaged areas; and — commit to reporting on the progress made on the implementation of the plan within six months of its publication.

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