Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will, but I want to answer Deputy Bríd Smith because she has asked the question a few times. I apologise to her because I am trying to answer all the questions here.

There has been a difficulty with instructions given to various Departments which has at least not helped the maintenance of the volume of transactions through the post office network. I spoke directly to the Minister for Social Protection on the issue. As the Deputy will be aware, before the summer the Minister for Social Protection issued an instruction to his departmental staff regarding the use or not of the post office network. That has led to an improvement there.

Work is ongoing on the basic bank account. That will provide new and additional services to the post office network across the country. There is the opportunity to expand that along the lines the Deputy mentioned.

I believe there is an opportunity to outsource some administrative work, which is currently being done quite inefficiently in Departments, through the sub-post office network. That was the basis of the submission I made to the Bobby Kerr report. My submission is available online along with everything else.

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