Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy O’Rourke said, we welcome this motion. It is fair to say that there has been a considerable number of conversations in respect of the post office and its network and this discussion has been around sustainability and viability. We all saw the great, and spectacular work in some cases, which has been done over many years but, particularly during the pandemic, by the post offices. If a message was needed in respect of the complete necessity of this network and the cornerstone it provides, that was it. We all use post office services in urban settings but this is particularly the case in rural centres. We are talking about rural centres which have been detrimentally impacted by the loss of Garda stations, the local public house or whatever other service as has been the case over many years.

We have had many debates and a considerable amount of work has been done, as has been mentioned by Deputy O’Rourke, by the Irish Postmasters' Union. Many of us here would have spoken about the Grant Thornton report. The whole idea behind that was to look at how much money we needed to put in to individual post offices and into the network to provide the money and the means by which we would be able to keep the system afloat. We are almost tired speaking here about sustainability and viability but this is a definite step in the right direction. Once again, over the past number of days we are also dealing with the issues in respect of State aid and the rules surrounding it. I liked being able to see that we were able to find a solution here.

On an ancillary point, I request that we find that sort of a solution in the future, rather than the madness we have in respect of Gresham House and where Coillte is at the minute. That is not something we like to see. There is a complete necessity in respect of postal services.

Deputy O’Rourke spoke about State services and I know the Irish Postmasters' Union, An Post, and others have spoken about the necessity of looking at tendering rules in respect of a greater amount of State services being made available and which could be offered through the post office network. We all welcome the greater amount of services which can be offered, such as post offices operating as a green hub, together with the financial services which can be provided, including banking services.

Over the summer we had the threats of further closures of banks in rural areas and small towns, in particular, and saw what is the general trajectory. While we may not accept that, particularly from our pillar banks, there is a need where people live in very close proximity to post offices that they have that sort of facility. We need to look at post offices being able to offer those sorts of services.

We all know, however, that the world in respect of postal services has completely changed and that, to some degree, people do not send letters. When people receive a letter it can be a huge thing. From a political point of view or in respect of an invitation, it sometimes works when one can get something hand-delivered. The danger at this time is that we know that there is a cost-of-living crisis and that there are issues in respect of businesses and whatever, but the extra 10 cent postal charge is not something we need to see. This is on top of the previous increases, I believe, last March. I understand that comparisons will have been done in respect of prices across Europe and the rest of the world in respect of postal services but we do not need to put more pressure on the system. The Irish Postmasters' Union was very strong and forthright in what it said, which is that we do not need fewer items being posted. We all know that the parcel delivery system is something that is here for the near future in respect of online purchases, but we need to ensure that the core business is sound.

A great amount of services in respect of the post office need to be looked at and, inasmuch as this is a step in the right direction, including where more moneys can be taken through the post office network in offering services from the State, banking services and green hub services. That would definitely move us to a place where there would be less need for State aid and we would have a more sustainable system. That is a place to which we definitely need to go.

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