Alex White (Labour)

Today it is An Post.

We should get real on the issue. If the Opposition is to be called to account for, in the Government's view, going too far in its criticism, the Government speakers must be called to account for some of their hyperbole. It is nearly impossible to take seriously some of the comments heard in these speeches.

A very important point was made relatively early on in the debate by Senator Quinn. As other Members have pointed out, it was particularly compelling coming from him as he has been successfully involved in business and understands the market and mechanisms of the marketplace. I respectfully agree with and reinforce his point that the market, as we know, does not and cannot solve everything.

Our post offices are more than businesses and must be seen as more than simply businesses. We must keep an eye on the financial viability of services, and people in this House should understand services must pay their way. Ireland and the places around it are changing. As this happens, the heartbeat of the community, the post office, is one of the last focal points existing in many communities throughout the country.

There has been a heavy emphasis in this debate on rural Ireland and I do not have any difficulty with people noting the changes affect rural Ireland more than anywhere else. We should not forget that the local post office is sometimes equally as important in urban, and particularly suburban, Ireland. In such cases the focal point of the community is the post office. One may argue there are other services available but we understand the post office is a place to go and a focal point for people to meet. There is almost a sense of an informal surveillance, although not in a sinister way. Those who run the post offices can understand very often what the issues are in the community, what is happening, who is up, who is down, who is around and who is not. It performs a community and social service, the value of which is incalculable to our society and well-being.

It is important that we, as Senator Quinn rightly indicated, see this as more than simply a business but also as a vital focal point in the community. I emphasise that significant changes have taken place in rural Ireland and the loss of a post office has a serious effect, but we should not forget suburban Ireland.

I worked in broadcasting and it interested me when people used to write into radio programmes about isolation in rural Ireland. I recall a person from one of the older inner suburbs of Dublin writing into a programme on which I worked, pointing out that loneliness and isolation is not confined to rural Ireland and can be just as debilitating and serious for a person in a city. The remaining focal points we have, with the post office at their heart, must be supported.

We should think of ways and encourage An Post to formulate innovations to expand the use of post offices, as other Members have said. We could integrate more functions into the post office, be they places like coffee shops or IT-based services. We should see both rural and urban post offices as part of the village square of the 21st century and we should support the service in future.