Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State is most welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge the presence of the many individuals in the Gallery with a strong connection to our strong and vibrant post office network.

My family's involvement with An Post started when my great-grandfather served as a local postman for 40 years. My grandfather was a postman for forty-seven and a half years. Pride of place in my home place is the certificate of long achievement he received as a result of that service. I know exactly what it means to be involved in An Post. I saw first-hand the benefit my grandfather experienced as somebody who was out and about meeting people and engaging with the local community on a daily basis.

I fully support the ask of the Irish Postmasters' Union for an additional €5 million on top of the €10 million that was committed over the past three years. I attended the Oireachtas committee on communications and listened very carefully to what was said about the future model of An Post, which involves greater incorporation and delivery of State services through the existing post office network. That is something I very much support, particularly in respect of drivers' licences and passports. So many more State services could be delivered through the post office network. I hope the Minister of State will take that on board.

The comment of the night was made by Senator Noonan, when he said that he had been writing letters to An Post about this and while the letters were getting delivered, the message had not been heard. It is to be hoped that is something we can take back and work on.