Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion and the amendment tabled by my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke. I fully agree with the proposal put forward in the Grant Thornton report commissioned by the IPU, which indicates a €17 million PSO contract as the only realistic solution to support the post office network, as well as serious consideration of what further Government services could be put through the post office network to make it more viable. There have been concerted efforts over the past number of years to get people on certain social welfare payments to have their payments paid through the bank. It is time to go back to a form of community banking through the post office network, something that is done in many other European countries. SEAI grants, as has been mentioned, could also be paid and delivery services could be enhanced.

I come from a village in Cavan called Kilnaleck. In January 2019, its post office was closed. It was one of five post offices closed in County Cavan at that time, and one of 159 closed nationwide. Kilnaleck is a small village with more than 80 businesses. It is very vibrant and has a great hinterland but that was not taken into account. The criterion was if it was a settlement of less than 500, its post office would close. It took no cognisance of the hinterland or that the post office provides a service, not just something about making profit. It forced businesses and individuals to go elsewhere for their financial needs. It was another knock following the Ulster Bank closing in 2013 and the closure of the credit union in 2016. It has meant a loss of business to the village, which has also had a serious impact on people. There are many elderly people in the area who do not have transport and they had to find some way for going to a different village to collect their social welfare payment. Many were in tears on the day that the post office closed. Many foreign nationals living in the area depended on the post office and similarly they had no transport to go elsewhere. They were also left at a loss. They used the post office regularly. We speak of investing in rural Ireland and we are talking about revitalising our villages in towns, yet we are draining people away by closing the services they need. Investing in An Post and keeping the post offices open would be the best way to keep rural Ireland open as well. I do not want to see what happened in Kilnaleck being allowed to happen anywhere else. More services and more investment need to be put into the post office.

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