Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is vital, at this critical time, that Dáil Éireann gets behind this motion and supports our call. Post offices need urgent Government assistance in order to survive the current crisis and build for the future so that we will have a profitable and sustainable post office network.

An Post is more than the post office, it is a vital part of every local community in every village and town. Post offices are not only a place where people conduct business, but also a place where social interaction takes place and, more often than not, the lifeblood of a local community. In recent research carried out by Red C, it was found that 91% of those surveyed agreed that the post office provided a valuable service to the local community, 86% supported the Government providing financial support to keep their post office open and 86% wanted more State services to be available at the post office. It is fair to say that we all realise that the local post office is much more than just a post office. I believe everybody in this House will agree with me when I say that Government must do everything in its power to ensure that local post offices remain open.

When a post office closes, other local businesses also suffer. This has been shown to be true over the years. In our motion, we ask Dáil Éireann to recognise that the volume of transactions within the post office network is down by an estimated 25% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which further threatens the viability of the network. We call on the Government to designate the post office as the offline gateway of choice for citizens availing of State services due to its unique nationwide network and existing strong relationship with offline citizens.

The statistics behind An Post are quite impressive. Some 28% of the population, or 1.3 million people, continue to use the services of the post office every week, which distributes €4.6 billion in social welfare payments. Coming from a business background, I know the challenges being faced in what seems to be an impossible situation. The post office needs Government support and a roadmap to the future. An Post's losses mainly result from the ongoing transfer of traditional post office services online and the reduction in its traditional mails business. I call on the Government to provide, first and foremost, funding to safeguard our post office network. A sum of €17 million does not seem to be a lot of money. I plead with the Minister of State to keep the post offices open.

With regard to the roadmap, the situation will be more difficult. For An Post to be viable, it must return to profitability. In order for this to happen, it must be allowed the opportunity to provide more services than it currently provides. We have heard in recent weeks that some major banking institutions are talking about pulling out of Ireland in the near future. l am not alone in saying that all the major banks would prefer not to operate personal bank accounts and not to deal with the costs associated with them. The reality, however, is that personal customers require an operational bank account. This account is needed to make debit card payments, direct debit payments, standing order payments, money transfers and so forth. There is a real opportunity for An Post to provide this service to personal account holders, probably in the form of a basic payment account.

An Post is in a unique position to offer these services. It is clear that the high street banks are not interested in this type of business, which presents an opportunity to An Post. An Post already has the infrastructure in place and with possible co-operation with the credit union movement, it could also have the IT structure in place. It would provide an opportunity to An Post to work closely with schools, especially primary schools. It could encourage students to open their first account with An Post. One will find that once people open an account at an early age and become familiar with this, they will stick with it. I know from speaking with members of older generations that they would be happy to conduct their business with An Post rather than the main banks.

This evening, the country will commence level 5 restrictions for a period of six weeks. Many so-called non-essential businesses such as clothes shops, gift shops and shoe shops will unfortunately have to close their doors to the public. The Government is actively encouraging these businesses to develop online business. While I agree with this approach, since it gives these businesses the opportunity to continue to trade, I also believe that it gives the post office an opportunity to expand its services. Local post offices should be given support to work with local businesses to provide a cost-effective and reliable delivery service to the businesses that require delivery of goods. I know that a number of couriers carry out a similar service but I firmly believe the post office can provide a unique partnership with local businesses to provide a more cost-effective solution. Local businesses need help to compete with large competitors, many of which are based outside the country. In Dundalk, we actively encourage people to shop locally and to keep business in the area.

An Post could benefit with regard to the motor tax. Surely this service could be provided by An Post and provide much-needed revenue. It is important that we all recognise the vital service that An Post provides to the local community in every village and town in the country. It is also vital that we come to its rescue and that the Government provides the necessary funding to fill the current gap of €17 million. It should be noted that the Government already provides substantial funding to the bus and rail services to keep them operating and An Post should be given the same treatment.

I spoke about the figure of €17 million and the local community. The Minister of State comes from the Galway area and, more than most people, realises the disservice done to An Post. There are opportunities and the Government could work closely with An Post. I know it costs a total of €70 million. I plead with the Government not to let this service go down.

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