Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to comment on this motion, which offers inroads to diversifying the range of services provided through post offices, including renewals of motor tax, offline services for people who struggle to process their paperwork online and personal banking services, among others. I support all these suggestions. The post office network has shown its adaptability and versatility as things have become more digitised. Social welfare payments are now successfully channelled through post offices and the fact that they are to start managing personal banking services also proves how willing and able they are to adjust to a modernising society. They have traditionally been a hub and a connection point for goods and services and are particularly valued in rural areas as a point of information, for familiarity and for the activity they generate and attract. However, the network is operating at a deficit of €17 million per annum, according to the Grant Thornton report. If the 2021 projections are anything to go by, each post office will experience a further loss of €19,000 per year going forward. The report estimates that the protection and expansion of the network would result in a social value for Ireland of between €344 million and €776 million. It costs €70 million to run the post office network for a year and its direct revenue generation is €53 million, with the numbers I mentioned previously representing the indirect financial benefits.

Four years ago, a deal was done with the IPU on the protocol for the future of the post office network. Three months of negotiations mediated by senior counsel led to an agreement that post offices serving communities of 500 or more would be prioritised.

I take issue with this as it was a criterion used as a justification to refuse to re-evaluate the closure of Broadford post office in County Clare. Communities in which more than 500 people reside often have other services available to them and are not necessarily as vulnerable to irrevocable rural decline. The number of post offices which have closed since 2018 is 192, six of them being in my home county of Clare. A public service obligation, PSO, is a good place to start and a helpful interim measure but it does not address the root issue. Rural services are in decline when we look at a broad range of issues, including homeless supports, access to independent living supports, dentists, health specialists and Shannondoc. The list is endless. The term "balanced regional development" that was thrown around so much in the programme for Government and subsequent debates in these Houses has rung hollow as the experience on the ground for rural communities is a far cry from the fantastical promises and commitments to strive for rural regeneration.

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