Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I refer first to a communications consultant who issued a statement this evening on behalf of the IPU. The IPU should have been outside the Dáil to protest with the rest of us, including the independent postmasters led by Mr. Tom O'Callaghan. We should all be on the same side in this argument to keep as many post offices open as possible. I thank Sinn Féin for its motion. However, while its heart is in the right place, its motion does not go far enough. What is needed is the implementation of the 2016 motion voted on by every Deputy here, including the members of Sinn Féin. If that were implemented, it would solve our problem and save as many post offices as possible. I am very sorry that County Kerry is being hit very severely. It is not just a matter of the current wave of 159 closures, but what is coming after. The other post offices are not safe. People who have not been issued with a contract to close will not necessarily survive. We are all in the same boat and going down the Swanee unless the Government wakes up. Unlike others, I do not lay this at the door of the Minister. However, I am looking for the Government to work with us. For God's sake, the Minister, above anyone else, knows the answers to the problem we have. We only want to save as many post offices as possible. That is what we are looking for.

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