Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I have previously raised the issue of the Rathmines post office being sold off and moved to a Centra. The building that houses the post office in Rathmines was built in 1934. It is a purpose built, art deco post office. It is an absolutely incredible building. It is vital that services and infrastructure like this are maintained, and they should be maintained and not sold off to a private developer or private owner. It is honestly incredible that the Government will allow the sale of this building to a private owner. The Rathmines post office could be the centre of Rathmines. It could be a central community hub and it could be the heart of cultural or community activities. The Government wants to sell this off. It is absolutely astonishing that this Government would sell such an amazing, beautiful building with such massive potential.

As has been said, postal services need €15 million every year to keep them going. I honestly think that will only keep them on a life support machine. It is all very well saying the Government supports postal services, but in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 over the past ten years, at least four or five post offices have closed down. While the Government says it supports the postal services, the evidence suggests it does not support the postal services, post offices and the Irish Postmasters' Union. The evidence suggests the Government is actually willing to let it die a slow death. It needs to invest, and not just the €15 million, and create a new model that is something similar to what Sinn Féin has proposed, which would mean postmasters and post offices could survive long term in a sustainable way.

The postmasters will not be found wanting when it comes to change. As has been said, it is not a handout to services. It is an investment in communities and ordinary people who use the postal services. The president of the Irish Postmasters' Union said recently that everyone is in danger of closing if transactions keep declining. Every post office will be under threat. The €15 million is the bare minimum that postal services require. Postal services will die, one after another, if the €15 million is not provided. There has to be more than just that. There has to be greater investment in services and provision so they can take on different services and make more money to make it more sustainable for the post offices. Communities need postal services. It is a valuable part of the social infrastructure and it is really important the Government stops saying it is in support of postal services and actually delivers the support post offices need.