Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To respond to Deputy Lowry, I will convey the feelings of the Deputies to the Minister. Deputy Kelly stated the decision in Ballinskelligs was reversed. An Post can change its mind if it finds that something is wrong. Deputy Mattie McGrath mentioned community banking in post offices. As I stated, An Post Money, which is a financial service, and An Post eCommerce Solutions, which is a business-to-business service, have been introduced. They are in place and in operation.

The question one might ask is why move premises and why not refurbish the existing premises. An Post has indicated that any plan to revamp the Liberty Square premises will be hampered by the condition of the three-storey listed property, the lack of available development space and the prohibitive cost of overcoming either of these obstacles. The building has also been subject to repeated complaints over accessibility and excessive queuing caused by the lack of space in the office. I am not from the area and I do not know the situation but I presume that the Deputies have received complaints in that regard.

I understand that the new premises is in Thurles Shopping Centre, which contains a number of retailers. There is a footfall of 55,000 and a multistorey car park with large volumes of available space, and it is located within 500 m of the existing branch office. Is that correct?

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