Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of rural post offices and refer to the motion to be taken in the other House today and tomorrow. First and foremost, this is political opportunism, although perhaps we might find a better word to describe it. Essentially, it is an attack on rural Ireland, but I direct the blame at one source, namely, the board of directors of An Post. If it were the board of directors of any other company, it would have got the bullet, so to speak, years ago because if one looks at a graph of the service provided by An Post, it is only in one direction and the directors have done nothing to stop it. They never dealt with anything until it became a problem. They never sought efficiencies and have not done their jobs. They have not chased new business, as any board of directors and any body else would do. Regarding applications for social welfare payments, etc., I have seen a copy of a letter sent by a social welfare office to an applicant requesting their bank details. People are being corralled in order to receive their payments, but the banks do not want this. We must, therefore, be very careful in this regard. In the light of the debate that will take place in the other House tonight and tomorrow, I ask colleagues to consider the ramifications of what could happen in the future. In my county alone - I have spoken to many postmasters - anything up to 50 rural post offices could close. The board of An Post should either resign or the Minister should give the directors their marching orders.