John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State most sincerely for meeting me and Deputy Martin Ferris this morning. I know the other Kerry Deputies were also available for the meeting but there were other engagements at the time. To cut to the chase, the Minister of State gave a commitment that in the next number of weeks he will publish proposals to save our network. I look forward to those and I have no doubt the Minister is completely committed to the cause, as are all politicians in the House and all postmasters and postmistresses across the country. It is really a matter of knuckling down and providing the network with the armoury to deliver services that will keep them viable.

The Minister of State mentioned that only approximately 30 post offices are in the control of the State. In other words, we are not going to close any post office; they will close themselves because they do not have the ability to provide services.

When I lived in the UK in the late 1980s and early 1990s, entire villages were without any postal service because all the post office networks across the UK had been closed. The people of that country regret that to this day and will regret it forever. We cannot allow this to happen in Ireland.

I will not repeat all the points that have been made about the services that are, or could be, available. The Minister of State is aware of those services., as are all other Members. We know how important the post network is to us.

I will conclude with an important message. The Minister of State and all politicians, like the postmasters and postmistresses across the country, will do everything possible to keep this service alive. The public at large has to use the service.

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