Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome this motion on post offices and also the Sinn Féin amendment. Several weeks ago I raised the subject with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, regarding the future of post offices, what was happening in some cases and changes that need to be made.

I commend the postmasters and the postmistresses who provide such a vital service. It is not only an economic service they provide in these areas but also a social service. The closure of post offices and how they have been treated over the years has been absolutely destructive to rural Ireland. One postmaster from Mayo, with whom I was talking this morning, said that they just do not get it in Dublin about post offices. I appeal to the Minister not to look at the cost-benefit analysis carried out by civil servants who do not understand rural Ireland and the importance of post offices.

When I spoke to the Minister on the previous occasion, I raised the utility incentives being used to encourage customers to go online. This has been done overtly and covertly in terms of trying to bypass the post offices. That is wrong and detrimental to rural Ireland, as well as to the future of post offices. It is time to stop talking about post offices. We have done so for many years. It is now time to put these actions in place. There are real solid opportunities which need to be implemented urgently, such as motor tax and driving licence renewals, as well as SEAI applications and Passport Express, the latter which was taken away from post offices. These are vital services.

There are many problems with reading and writing in rural Ireland. Someone providing the post office service will often know a person's vulnerabilities, such as if he or she cannot read or write well. They are there to provide assistance to such individuals. We must not leave those vulnerable people at the mercy of the banks. We know what the banks have done to this country and what they have cost the most vulnerable people. We do not want to continue on that pathway.

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