Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We should enable the post offices to offer banking and other services such as electronic social welfare payments. That is only a proposition, but it is possible. Deputy Troy has a passion for these things and for rural Ireland but he will have to accept that our record on this issue stands up very well. I am interested to hear what the response of the Minister will be. We talk about job creation, but job retention is of equal importance, and if we can preserve the 3,700 people working in our post office network it will be a wonderful achievement. I hope we can do that and that we can add services to our post offices. I consider it a priority for Government and I am anxious to be reassured on that score.

I thank the Acting Chairman for allowing me to address the question. We have to modernise our country by introducing a postcode system. We must ensure data protection and efficiency in the way private data are dealt with and, in the process, protect and enhance our post offices.

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