Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Tom O'Callaghan from the Independent Postmasters Group and representatives of Save Ballinfull Post Office in north Sligo, who are in the Gallery and represent the many protestors who were outside the House today.

Increasingly, the Minister and his colleagues look more like chairmen of a GAA club. They get to stand in for the photo on ceremonial occasions and say a few words but they really have nothing to do with running the club. Increasingly we hear the refrain: "That is a matter for An Post, the HSE, HIQA or Transport Infrastructure Ireland, a matter for everybody but me." I am beginning to wonder - as the presidential election begins to kick off for that ceremonial role - about the 15 ceremonial positions the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are adopting.

We know An Post has a commercial mandate and has to balance the books and there are ways and means of achieving that. One of them is not to sub-contract out to companies or to the Irish Postmasters Union, as a private trade union representing members. Good luck to the IPU - it does a good job - but it does not represent communities.

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