Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this very important motion, albeit briefly. I congratulate the Rural Alliance on introducing the motion, given the colossal importance of protecting the post office network, not just for rural areas but also for urban communities. This is an issue that fully unites urban and rural Ireland.

The depletion of the post office network is an issue in urban districts also. Approximately ten years ago the north Coolock parishes of Priorswood and Clonshaugh in Dublin Bay North were devastated to learn that their post office was closing and moving to the Tesco-owned Clare Hall shopping centre. For many senior citizens and others with poor mobility the closure of the post office in Clonshaugh shopping centre was a major blow and inconvenience to their daily lives. Similarly, about two years ago people in Howth were taken aback by the closure of the then stand-alone post office. It moved not too far away into the local Centra supermarket but we like to have specialist post office services and that is now gone. I have been informed in recent days by Councillor Keith Redmond and others that Sutton post office is threatened with closure. That seems to go back to the refusal of the new management team in An Post to financially support post offices in districts such as Sutton. I call on the new chief executive, David McRedmond, whom a number of us know well from his previous roles in other parts of Irish public life, to ensure the outrageous threatened closure of Sutton post office does not go ahead.

The Minister made commitments to support the post office network in the programme for a partnership Government and it was agreed that the recommendations of the Post Office Network Business Development Group, which reported in January 2016, would be implemented. I am especially interested in the recommendations put forward by the group, including basic payment accounts, the motor tax recommendation, the credit union recommendation, the social value recommendation, the procurement recommendation and the white labelling recommendation. All of those options could offer important avenues for the post office network to be maintained.

I also warmly welcome the investigation into developing a German Sparkassenmodel of local banking, in alliance with the post office network and I urge that it would be pursued. I thank my colleague, Deputy Joan Collins, who arranged for us to meet advocates for Sparkassen. I warmly congratulate our Rural Independent Group colleagues and urge the Minister to take on board what they are advocating today.

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