Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the Minister is extending the deadline to 31 October, what happens to the post offices that are due to close before that date? What about those that have already been closed? In County Laois alone, we have Ballinakill and Ballybrittas. Crettyard was lumped in with Carlow but it is actually in County Laois. However, we will not split hairs on that. In Offaly, we have Geashill, Moneygall, Mount Lucas, Pullough and Walsh Island. They are substantial communities and these closures will be a huge loss to them.

The Minister has not committed to community banking.

The banks have withdrawn from rural Ireland and what the Minister is proposing will allow the pillar banks to use the post offices to provide limited services, but the pillar banks will withdraw the profits from them. These are the pillar banks we bailed out. We need to put in place either the Sparkassen or the Kiwibank model where the profits are reinvested in the local community or into government services in rural areas. The Kiwibank model is the option in New Zealand and the Sparkassen model is used directly by local government in regions of Germany.

The whole process of reform of the post office network has been like watching paint dry. It has been like a slow bicycle race over the last seven years. It has been grinding on and on. The Oireachtas committee looked at this early in the last term of the Dáil and it has been grinding on since then. I have to agree there has been inaction on this for decades. There was clearly a need for quick action in the years 2012 to 2014 but that did not happen. Here we are still watching the slow bicycle race taking place. We are looking at the definite closure of 159 post offices, with one more mentioned tonight, and there is the likelihood of another 230 post offices which have not been offered a new contract. This affects the most marginalised rural communities. The Minister must remember it affects the most marginalised people within those communities. It is those people who are elderly and those who are on the smallest incomes who will be hit hardest. I have heard people say someone can get a taxi and do a round trip to a post office within 15 km. However, that would be the first €30 gone out from a pensioner's income as a taxi would cost €25 or €30. That must be borne in mind.

I also ask the Minister to bear in mind that people over the age of 70 are having huge difficulty in getting car insurance and I know many older people in rural areas who can no longer drive. This matter requires a hands-on approach. The Minister is not a bystander in this but is representing the public in this regard. He is the sole shareholder and he needs to get a grip on this to stop these closures.

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