Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The debate this morning centres on the old adage that we know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. In recent years the Government has, to a large degree, turned its back on the needs of the post office network and in doing so it has turned its back on the needs of regional and rural Ireland. A significant group of our citizens have used post office services for many years and will not avail of the move to e-commerce that the Government and society more generally is pushing. We need to acknowledge that in the first instance. We also need to determine how we can future-proof the post office network for the modern age. In that context, the Government must view the post office network as a strategic asset. As someone who lives in regional Ireland with a large rural constituency base, I know the value of the post office network and the importance of post offices to citizens. They want to do business in their local post office, which is a local community area where they feel safe and secure, are known and get recognition. They value the services of post offices and have been prepared for years to support them through their taxes but unfortunately the Government is not so prepared.

A public service obligation, PSO, levy will be required to support the services of post offices in the future. We can look at initiatives like issuing social welfare payments through post offices and so forth but ultimately this is about a strategic decision as to whether the Government will support the network into the future. That is both a strategic and cultural decision. Once that decision is made by the Government, it can provide the initiatives that will ensure that money flows into the post office network. I ask the Minister to consider the importance of the network to the social fabric of the country. Previous speakers have referred to payments through the PUP scheme, motor taxation and driving licences being processed through post offices and there lots of other initiatives we can consider. Some months ago I called for a joint initiative between post offices and credit unions to provide funding for the SME sector. There are hundreds of millions of euro sitting in credit union accounts that cannot find a way of leveraging interest and at the same time, people in businesses are looking for money. A natural efficiency could be arrived at but nobody has expressed any interest in examining this proposal further.

I ask the Minister to put a floor under the post office network and to make a strategic commitment to fund it into the future. After that we can look at various initiatives that will provide revenue for the network but first and foremost, a political decision to support, save and expand it must be made.

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