Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For the past 300 years the post office network has been an integral element of Irish society. It has been at the forefront of economic and social activity in towns and villages across the country. With over 1,150 post offices nationwide, An Post is a huge resource which needs to be further utilised.

The post office network provides a large range of services. As well as the standard postal services and welfare payments, post offices now provide Passport Express, National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, savings, Garda fixed fines, dog licences, television licence renewal, toll tag top-up, bin collection payment, tax payments, including local property tax, LPT, mobile top-up and some banking services.

The post office is the centre of social interaction for many older members of our society, as they look forward to the Friday visit to collect their old age pension, where they meet many of their own generation. It is a safe environment in which they can collect their money. In rural areas in particular, a grocery shop is attached to the post office. Many elderly do their entire week's shopping in the local shop. It is convenient for them not to have to travel, and the shopkeeper knows their individual needs and stocks the shop accordingly. Closure of a rural post office will almost certainly mean closure of the local shop as well, and this will have significant implications for the survival of that community.

The social and community value of the post office cannot be underestimated. The post office network is long established in our country and is valued and trusted as being able to deliver an excellent service to all its customers over the past 300 years. However, evolving technological and behavioural changes are placing the future of the post office network under increasing pressure. The move to Internet-based transactions is ongoing and inevitable, and nobody would deny that there is a need for the network to continue to improve and modernise.

The preparation of a modernisation plan for all post offices needs to take place. Rural post offices, in particular, need to embed themselves further into the social and economic fabric of their communities and, just like any other business, become increasingly relevant to their customers. The post offices' approach of front-of-counter staff is accessible and engaging for customers, and in an age where banks and other institutions are rapidly decreasing the number of front-of-counter staff, post offices should use this to their advantage.

The Government needs to look at adapting the post office network to meet the changing needs of modern Ireland. It would be an ideal solution for delivery of motor tax and driving licences, and would alleviate the pressure on the overcrowded city offices. Cork County Council has only one motor tax office in the county and three offices in the county for driving licences. It will eliminate the strain on the designated motor tax offices. Some €63 million could be saved in five years on motor tax alone if post offices were to be used to deliver this service.

There are enormous opportunities for using our post offices as the point of contact for more Government services. The decision to develop post offices as Government front offices will have a spin-off effect on enhancing the viability of rural communities. Other Government services that the post offices could provide include, in the health area, medical card applications; in agriculture, farm grant applications; in transport, driving licences and tax certificates; and in social welfare, payments, acceptance of medical certificates, back-to-school allowance applications and all applications for payments. The post office network could also be paid to provide assistance and advice to people looking for information on Government services. Then post offices could play an increasingly important role.

Where appropriate, post offices should be open for longer hours, including lunchtime opening. Integrating post office tills with point of sale terminals for some services may reduce costs and ensure out-of-hours provision.

Electronic banking, that was promised for early 2016, needs to be introduced now and the delays at Government level need to be resolved. The only viable alternative to a declining social welfare dependent model is community or public banking through the post office network , such as that in New Zealand that has led to the turnaround in fortunes for the Kiwi post office and made it the success it is today. An Post needs to roll out debit cards and full access to ATM and point of sale facilities. An Post accounts need to be accessible by Internet, phone and mobile phone apps. Does the Government acknowledge that a post bank is the way forward, and if so, what action has it taken to research and develop a model, such as the Kiwibank, that can be implemented through the post office network and thus ensure viability? An Post should also examine the potential for introducing ATMs external to post office premises. An Post should provide banking services to all banks. I have had complaints from many of my constituents about the fact that they have to travel more than 30 miles from their local post office to lodge money into their bank each week.

Mobile post offices are not the answer and I am strongly opposed to their introduction. I come from a community where banks have been replaced with mobile banks. Is it, as Deputy Fitzmaurice stated, a Noddy-type service we will have people going around from place to place with their little vans so that the post offices can be got rid? The quickest way of dismantling our valuable post office network is the mobile service. It is the death knell of the postal service. We must not allow an unwise decision to be taken. It is possible for us to use this highly effective network to deliver a wide range of services at little cost. As stated, the post office network, if utilised in the way which I have outlined, has the potential to save millions of euro while creating further employment and enhancing the sustainability of rural communities.

I am also completely opposed to the idea of having only one post office every 15 km. This is unacceptable and unsuitable. In particular, it does not serve people in rural Ireland where there is no public transport service. I urge the Government not to introduce this damning measure.

See this speech in context