Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to the remarks made by Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony when she spoke about how she learned about the economic and social benefits of post offices provided for local communities through her work in the post office during the years. None of us should ever ignore the fact that most postmasters and postmistresses went beyond the call of duty during the years in assisting people who might not have had good numeracy or literacy skills. As a society, we are being abusive to people who do not have those skills, may not have access to technology or are not technology-friendly. We should be able to provide a service to ensure people will not be left behind because of a lack of numeracy or literacy skills or an inability to travel a distance by car to receive their pension.

Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher referred to the fact that the wrong measurement of the population of an area had been used. People are going by the last census. We know that the entire population of a town might not be included in a census. Two of the streets in Killeshandra where the post office is closing have not been factored in in the number of people who use that post office.

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