Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Regional Independent Group for bringing into the Chamber this Private Members' motion on the post office network.

Post offices provide a crucial nationwide service, and especially for older people and those in more rural and isolated areas. There are 875 post offices operated by postmasters, and 46 operated by An Post. This is a truly national service and is unlike any other. Services provided by the post offices are crucial to those who are offline. This essential network should not be allowed to wither away or die out. I fully support the need for an interim initiative by the Government as outlined in the motion, and which was promised by Government in 2017. There is a need, however, for a longer-term solution. I spoke in the Chamber last week in the debate on the future of banking where I raised proposals put forward by the public banking forum for the development of a public banking system as an alternative to the private banks that are closing down branches and essentially withdrawing from the more rural areas. The public banking forum advocates that 300 credit unions, itself a strong national network, should be the basis of ten regional community-owned banks, working in co-operation with post offices and other community organisations. These banks would have a strategic remit to invest locally, developing the economy on a regional basis. This would be crucial to rural and isolated areas, and would give the post office network a real future.

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