Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with the Cathaoirleach. The line I take issue with is not from the Minister of State; rather, it is from An Post which stated that the post office was closed due to circumstances beyond its control. I do not believe it was. It made a decision to close the post office. What was the threshold on which the decision was based? Was there a minor or major discrepancy? A post office should not be closed on a whim. It is a vital public service.

We would not close the Houses of the Oireachtas, hospital or medical centre unless something very serious had happened. That may be the case here. I have been told it is not, and I remain to be corrected. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister whether he can put in place a protocol that would show that An Post can only close a post office when certain very serious thresholds have been reached, and under no circumstances should they be closed before then, that an audit process should be undertaken and matters should be rectified. The closure of a post office should be a last resort.