Imelda Goldsboro (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the postmasters. It was great to meet them earlier. I understand the urgency that is required around the funding. I support everything that has been said by my colleagues.

I am from Tipperary South, which has been hit by a number of these closures. We can see the decimation of our villages and communities because the post offices are gone. People do not appreciate them until they hear the rumblings in the camp of what could happen or who is thinking of retiring. We need to put more services into post offices. We need to deal with this urgently to allow those who have contracts coming up for renewal to have them signed and sealed. No price can be put on what they are doing for the public, for communities. It is priceless. We saw it in emergency times, such as storms and the Covid-19 pandemic. It is about the connection, and sometimes in rural Ireland, the voices of post office staff are the only voices people hear. It is the only face-to-face interaction they have, and that is priceless.

No matter the outcome for rural Ireland, the post office is the hub of every community. Not every community has buses, trains, Luas or a metro. The message is that we have supported those and the post office network should be treated with further support. The services should be enhanced. Post offices should be made vibrant products and be supported every step of the way.