Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Regional Group for tabling the motion. I hope that it will take Sinn Féin's amendment on board.

On the previous occasion I spoke in the House on post offices, 12 were to close in County Cork. That affected 34 towns and villages. For those living in Rockchapel in County Cork, the local post office is now in Brosna, County Kerry. Things have not improved much.

This motion is about strengthening services. Of course we welcome that but we should remember that banking and post offices are very different. No one in the bank will help customers to fill out a little application form or allow them €5 off their ESB bill, for example. It is the only hub left in some of our towns and villages. Our amendment referred to having a one-stop-shop. They are the only meeting places in many areas because they have lost their Garda stations, shops and pubs, and rural transport is very limited. It might be the only chance that people have of getting out to meeting people once a week. It is a vital service.

Recently, my own town lost our post office to a fire. That affected more than 9,000 people and caused great panic and consternation. That demonstrated how vital postal services. It only took a few weeks before the post office was up and running again and I commend An Post on that. There was great community spirit and tie-in between the post offices of Carrigtwohill and Castlemartyr, which offered their services. It is often forgotten that postal services are about community. They are community-led and are about community spirit and respect.

The final line of the Minister of State's opening contribution stated: "It is my intention that all options will be considered fully and that efforts will be redoubled to give effect to our commitment to ensuring a sustainable and viable post office network." Sinn Féin's amendment is precisely what the Minister of State committed to, yet the Government has tabled a counter motion. I call on the Government to support the Regional Independent Group's motion and Sinn Féin's amendment and withdraw its counter motion because it puts the horse before the cart. It makes a full commitment to ensure a sustainable and viable post office network yet it will not support the motion.

11 o’clock

In the little time I have left, I want to raise the issue of the hubs. It is vitally important that these services are protected. A large number of people in those 34 towns and villages were affected by the closure of 12 post offices several years ago. Losing services can be devastating for a community. Will the Government withdraw its amendment and support this motion?

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