Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Others have spoken about the challenge facing our post office network and the linked but separate challenges of the need for an alternative to commercial banks and the hugely disproportionate weight of commercial banks in Ireland, which is out of line with anything anywhere and dangerous for society. Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell's excoriating and brilliant speech covered that, so I will make just two points.

In addressing the post office network problem, we need to ensure we do not accidentally fail to address the question of the alternatives. I am worried about something I have seen happen again and again. While the excellent Sparkassen and New Zealand models, for example, are very well developed proposals, there are talks about pilots - pilots in rural areas and pilots in urban areas - yet, at the same time as we are piloting good practice and doing reports on it, we are rolling out-----