Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I accept the Deputy's point regarding the post office network and this issue being an important matter of public policy. However, we also live in a world that is characterised by public procurement rules, and we must live with those rules. I doubt that anybody is suggesting that such important rules should be bent or moved in a particular direction. I believe the two worlds, the world of the rules governing public procurement on the one hand and the important public policy consideration that the Deputy mentions on the other, can co-exist. How best to balance these imperatives is the issue the Cabinet committee on social policy is addressing. As I mentioned earlier, that Cabinet committee will return to this matter in the autumn. The Deputy should be reassured that the Government strongly believes in the continuing role of the post office network in providing important services in local communities.

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