Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the extensive reply and do not doubt his bona fides. However, would the Minister of State agree that having the provision of financial services at its core is essential to the survival of the post office network? My colleague, Deputy Burton, as Minister, was a strong advocate of the basic payment account system. She also advocated the potential of the German Sparkasse model for the development of public banks, which could be integrated into this, along with the credit union movement. Surely some liaison could be struck that would ensure that services are available to rural people. There is a huge deficit, if not a dearth, of banking services, particularly for the elderly. The banks disgraced themselves with the way they treated individuals throughout the country, but they disgraced themselves even more so with the way they treated communities in the country. As the Minister of State knows, they closed everything. They ran away and left the Government carrying the can and this is the one way Government can redress the situation. It is absolutely essential that there is a provision of services. In the context of the McKinsey report, is that part of the core recommendation? As I understand it, although I may have taken him up wrong, Mr. McRedmond recently stated that we should perhaps consider having full banking services rather than just the basic payment account.

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