Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I believe there is a certain amount of procrastination. There is significant delay in the publishing of this report. I cannot see how it is taking such a long time to come up with it. As the Minister stated, the public consultation was completed a long time ago. There are evident vital proposals that could be quite simply implemented.

The Grant Thornton report published by the Irish Postmasters' Union identified motor tax as the number one item that could be made available through our post office network. Another was the extension of banking services. All we have heard during recent months has been negativity - for example, the utterances of the Minister for Social Protection about giving priority to banks by paying social welfare benefits into recipients' bank accounts. It was a drastic action by the Minister. Although we hear that the Government has the will to retain and promote the post offices, nothing we have heard over recent weeks has been very positive.

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