Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)

We have engaged with the postmasters. I represent a rural community. I know probably as well as the Deputy the value of post offices. The earlier reply alluded to the fact that there is a digital risk with the growth in the number of services that are moving online. The reality is that mail delivery services have gone down dramatically. That poses a risk to the company and we have to be acutely aware of it. While everybody wants to move their services online, that comes then with a challenge to the organisation. The challenge to the organisation is to make sure it can compete, which it does, in other markets, including in parcel delivery in which it is doing a really great job. I understand, however, the context of what the Deputy is saying around it being a social asset as much as anything else. That is why the Government has over the past three years given €10 million in support, and that is why we have been engaged with the Irish Postmasters' Union, IPU. This is something we are considering in the context of the budget.

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