Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking Topical Issue Matters today. From about 8.45 onwards this morning and every weekday morning, a trickle of people start to arrive at Phibsborough post office. That trickle very quickly turns into a queue and that queue is representative of the vast array of different people who live in and make Phibsborough their home. They queue outside the post office for a variety of reasons. It is a hub of the community.

Phibsborough post office provides a multitude of different services. The people who go there frequent it for the services it offers, the sense of the community and the conversations they have along the way. In the past two weeks or so, the community has been told that Phibsborough post office is at risk of being closed or having the services significantly diluted and placed off site.

I cannot begin to describe the manner in which I would object to that. As I said, it is a place where people buy their stamps and so on, but it is far more than that. Phibsborough post office is not unique in that sense. Post offices the length and breadth of Ireland play a vital community role. If we are to erode those services, it would be to the detriment of the community and the people who use them.

First, I strongly seek more information from the Government. I note the Minister of State is representing the Minister for communications. I would like to understand better the intention for the erosion of this service. I strongly protest against any dilution of the services. We simply cannot have a scenario where it is outsourced to a postmaster who moves those services off site to the back of a shop or we find some other little outlet that does not come anywhere close to providing the same service. I wish to understand exactly what the Government’s plan is. The Minister of State can speak of post offices in general but I ask that he speak about Phibsborough, if possible.

I also wish to understand how best we can oppose this. I do not believe for a second the Minister with responsibilities for postal services, Deputy Ryan, wants to see the erasure of these types of services in communities. There has to be an appreciation of the role they play. You do not notice those services until somebody says they are gone. Last week, there was a general level of anxiety, with people wondering what would happen if the post office were taken away. There is no bank in Phibsborough, so that post office becomes a hub where older people in particular, who are not using their phones, do their banking.

The postal service on Mountjoy Street was taken away a number of years ago and there was a threat to remove Phibsborough post office in 2017. We should not have to protest too hard to keep these types of services. They are needed and valued. Post offices are a central hub of communities. I would like to understand the Government’s plan and position and how best we oppose this dilution of service.

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