Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. We have had more promises and announcements about oifigí poist and postmasters and postmistresses than we have had hot dinners. It is to be hoped this will be meaningful, tangible and provide real supports, rather than nice glossy brochures which tell people what they will have. Live, horse, and you will get grass. People are pushed out.

As we know, postmistresses and postmasters operate on a pittance. The basic amount they get is little or nothing. They get a certain amount per transaction. They are being squeezed. We have quoted letters from the Department of Social Protection, which instructed people to get their money through banks. Banks have exited most towns and are cashless. Of the four cash machines in the centre of Clonmel last weekend, three were out of order because the banks do not want to fix or do anything with them. They do not care about the ordinary people.

Post offices have saved many people. The late Johnny Grady from the Nire in Hollyford was making wreaths and went missing. He did not turn up at a post office one week. Fuair sé bás sna coillte. He was dead in the woods. The postmistress missed him. They miss people and look after the community, from a crime point of view or whatever.

We have problems with CCTV. Post offices normally have their own CCTV and gardaí check it and everything else. I could not say enough about postmistresses and postmasters who have done so much to help people, in particular the elderly. Young people have been tricked and fooled into doing everything online. What will happen when there are cyberattacks, crashes and a cashless society, which is what the Government wants?

See this speech in context