Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to reading the report in detail. I understand that all Departments were party to the Post Office network business development group, including and, perhaps primarily, the Department of Social Protection. I have received correspondence from various post offices, the most recent from the post office in beautiful Easkey, County Sligo, which is on the Atlantic coast. The correspondence included a form issued by the Department of Social Protection, which states:

The Department recommends direct payment to your current, deposit or savings account in a financial institution. This is the best payment option for you, as you can receive your payment at a time and place that suits you. The account must be in your name or jointly held by you.

That is active encouragement of people to move from the post offices to one of the banks, which works directly against what should have been the objective of the working group.

See this speech in context