Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Both the Deputy and the Irish Postmasters Union have given me copies of correspondence with customers which, in my view, did encourage them to move to the bank without giving them an equal option of using the post office. That is why those letters have stopped. A circular will go to staff in the next week or two advising them to make sure that, in any correspondence, they give people the option of using both the post office and a bank account.

4 o’clock

We need to bear in mind that ultimately it is down to the choice of the person and that 70% of those reaching pension age now want to have the money paid into their bank. When I was a kid, I used to go to the post office in Blanchardstown with my mum to pick up what was then the children's allowance. These days the vast majority of women are in work and want to have the money paid into their bank accounts. They do not want to have to go to the post office. Thankfully, the number of job seekers is falling and this downward trend in the real modern world will continue. We will certainly not actively encourage people to opt for EFT over the post office, but it will not stop the downward trend.

See this speech in context