2026-03-04

The Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, will be aware that the postal services have been crippled with closures and cutbacks. Since 2015 a total of 34 post offices have been closed in Cork, the vast majority of which were in rural areas. The shocking number of closures has also resulted in threats to other community services. I will give the example of Ballynoe. It had a shop that was part of the post office. It did the local newspapers and it was beside the pub. Since that post office closed, they have nothing in that village. What makes it worse is that people now have to get a taxi into Midleton, maybe 7, 8 or 9 miles away, to draw their pension. This is happening all over place. Ballycotton is another village with no shop and no post office. It is just ripping the heart out of rural Ireland. During Covid I spoke to two postmen - not postwomen - who explained to me that on their rounds, they delivered two letters to two elderly people every week that they wrote to themselves. The only people they would see during the Covid lockdown were the postmen. That is another vital little cog in the wheel when talking about post office closures. I want to raise the fact that back in 2011 Sinn Féin highlighted that a public service obligation arrangement would be needed to save the post offices. We mentioned expanding the services. I have met with the Irish Postmasters' Union. I worked with two postmasters over the past number of years, one of whom has since retired. We need to get Government services, the credit unions, driving licences and so on into the post office. The post office is not just some place people go into to post a letter and that is it. We have heard the cliché "the computer says No". This is what I hear when talking to postmasters. Not so much in the towns but in the countryside post offices are a meeting place for people who come in once a week to draw their pension, get a bottle of milk and a sliced pan because normally the post office is the shop and everything else. The postmaster is also the counsellor and the advice giver. A machine will not help people fill out an application form. I think we have lost sight of that. A number of years ago, just after Covid, we were talking here about the parcel service. They were trying to close the parcel service in Little Island in Cork. That service was dealing with more parcels than Portlaoise and Athlone together. I cannot see the logic of trying to fix something that is not broken. If we do not have dialogue and we do not talk to people, then we do not get information so we cannot act on it and cannot get the results. I ask the Government to look seriously at the public service obligation and support the postmasters. The pay has to be increased because it is not attractive anymore.

Today we are all talking on the issue of post offices and post offices being retained. I want to emphasise the need for post offices to be retained in our town and village centres. All too often we talk about retaining the service but the key for me is that we retain them in the town centres. In my home village of Leixlip, we lost our post office from the town centre when it was put into a shopping area outside the town. That has had a huge impact on the other traders and the other businesses in our town. We have to be very conscious of this. An Post is a national entity. It is part of our government. We cannot sit here talking about redeveloping our town centres and about how our town centres are becoming derelict on the one hand while on the other hand allow the services to be taken out of those very same town centres. There has to be a degree of responsibility with An Post to ensure that the post offices remain central. That is the key issue. Obviously there are other towns and villages in Ireland that will probably come under the same duress. There might be a place in towns like Celbridge but then all of a sudden somebody is asked to go to a shopping centre outside the town. It could be Naas or another town in the future. We need to ensure people are able to go into the town centre because that is how other businesses will benefit. A shop could have parking and we could make it free or even pay a postmaster to have a post office in that shop. It benefits them being in one location but it does not benefit anybody else. That is where those opportunities are. We need to put safeguards around that too. We need to ensure a post office service in the smaller villages and towns but we also need to ensure the post offices in larger areas remain in locations that are helpful to everybody as opposed to the one or two shop owners who might see it as beneficial to give the postmaster a corner in their shop who will bring in hundreds of people on a weekly basis but nobody else benefits but the businessperson. In Leixlip we have seen a downturn for other businesses because this happened. An Post can provide other services and it has done so in the past. I would like to ensure we continue to reinvigorate the An Post services because it will be hugely beneficial into the future.

Usually when I stand up here to say a few words I am upbeat and hoping to get a positive response. I stand here today representing County Laois. Since 2002 when the new currency came into this country 22 or 23 post offices have closed in County Laois. The Government needs to give some form of backing to the remaining post offices in our county or we will be here again in 12 months' time when more are closed. Every year more and more have closed. We need to look at the whole structure of the post office. For example, when a contract is up with the postmaster or postmistress why do the doors close? Obviously, it is because it does not pay them to keep the doors open. If it does not pay them to keep the doors open, it behoves the Government to bring in some scheme that would help address the situation. For too long I have heard the suggestions to get other payments through the post office but all of that is history now. The time for talking is over. The time to do business is now. I have seen the very same changes in the local authorities and the taxation offices. For years, people would be queuing outside the door of Laois County Council to pay car tax, especially at certain times - at the beginning of the month or whatever. It is all online now. Very few people to anything in person now. Everything is online and can be done on the phone. I have listened to all the Members who spoke and I have watched all the Ministers come and go. However, if we are serious about what we are talking about today, we will do something positive about it. That is what I ask the Minister of State to do. Do something positive about it and report back here on what is being done to keep those rural post offices, which are the last few that we have. I will not even talk about rural post offices because at this stage, it is also about urban post offices. Going forward, unless there is an intervention by the Government, we will have far fewer post offices. It is awful passing through all our villages now. When I was a young fella they were a hive of activity. Now there is no pub, no post office and no shop.

The Deputy is over time.

You cannot even get a pint of milk because you cannot get it from your local farmer because it is not pasteurised. That is where we have gone to now.

We can all agree the closure of a post office is a bad thing. I understand the need for consolidation and the business case for reducing the number of post offices because of the costs associated with each one but we have to recognise that each post office is more than just a monetary unit within An Post's business model. It is a community lifeline, it is a facility for the local community and it is a rallying point for people in that community. The loss of it is a loss for that community. I will speak of my constituency. People very often associate the closure of post offices as a rural feature, and obviously it does have a particular impact in rural communities where there is less of a population. However, in urban areas like Booterstown, for example, the Woodbine post office is closed. The post office has closed in Dalkey. They closed because the postmasters in question retired and there was nobody to replace them. It was not because the post office was unviable, or because it was not busy enough or there was no demand for it. It was because there was no person who was willing to take over that postmaster's role. Why is that? It is an important question we need to ask. The terms and conditions for postmasters are singularly unattractive. There are real problems with An Post's approach to remuneration and terms and conditions for postmasters. An example is the pension dispute that is going on. I am aware the Government has signed off on the 7% increase for An Post pensioners but they want their pension to be brought into parity with current postmaster pay. When Members of this House retire, their pension will be a function of the current pay of TDs but when postmasters retire, that is not what happens. There is an issue around parity there. How can you ask somebody to take up a postmaster position when the terms and conditions they are asked to operate under are not attractive enough for them to take it on? That is a major factor. I am aware of a post office in Leenaun, County Galway, where the postmaster retired. He had been paying somebody to do part-time work in the post office so he could tend to other things. Notwithstanding the fact he was paying that person out of his own pocket, when the point came for him to get the lump sum for his retirement, he was denied it because he had employed somebody. It makes no sense whatsoever and An Post really needs to re-examine the basis on which it remunerates postmasters.

In 2021, the postmaster in Mount Merrion in the Stillorgan local area closed. It is a familiar story. The postmaster was moving on, An Post advertised and nobody stepped up to take on the role. We were lucky in the community to have two other local post offices a 25- or 30-minute walk away. Last month, one of those closed. It was the same story. The postmaster moved on, it was advertised but nobody took on the role. We are still quite lucky as we have one local post office. This one is in Stillorgan village. The village introduced paid parking before Christmas for the first time and from the first hour. One local said to me that has effectively increased the cost of your first stamp by 25% year on year. We know that is not how pricing works but it shows how people look at pricing. They looked at this as having increased the price of a cup of coffee or litre of milk if they drive to Stillorgan village. People have started to avoid it and trade is down by up to 40% by some measures. My concern is whether that will end up affecting the post office. Could we end up losing that post office? Is it economically viable? After that, we do not have a local post office serving a community of over 10,000 people. The nearest are a 40-minute or 60-minute walk, which is not realistic for most people. We are looking at people driving out of the community to avail of a basic service. We seem to have Government policies that are at odds. One policy is encouraging people, particularly in urban areas, to live, work, socialise and avail of services in the local community, while another arm of the Government is removing the very services we need to keep us in our local communities. I ask the Minister of State and An Post what we are doing to maintain our urban postal networks, so we can continue to work, live and socialise in local communities.

Sometimes I feel like I am in a parallel world here. If we tabled a motion this evening to protect rural post offices, I have no doubt every Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Deputy and every Lowry Independents would vote against it. Yet every single person is coming in to talk about local post offices. I live in an urban area and post offices are under pressure in relation to access for our community and ever-increasing costs. I am really worried about the increasing rents in urban areas, which will lead to commercially unviable post offices. Many years ago, our post office in Corduff was lost and never returned, despite a huge campaign by the community. There is no doubt this loss is still felt. I have been engaging with the post office in recent weeks on the postal service. It acknowledged there is a reduction of 7% in letters overall but a 44% increase in parcels. That is absolutely huge. The collapse of a private parcel delivery firm has created a massive spike in parcels coming through our local depot in Coolmine. The volume is so large An Post has had to erect large tents in the car park. I get messages every other day about the postal service. Important letters and parcels are being delivered late. Last week, a person was worried because the decorations for a wedding they had planned were stuck in the depot and they could not get it access to them. Letters from hospitals and other important things people are waiting on are not being received until late in the day or sometimes when the date has passed. We have to talk about what the postal service is. Is it just about delivering letters and parcels? It is not. Every single person who has come in here today has talked about the vital public and social service post offices provide. I was struck by what Deputy Buckley said about those two women who wrote to themselves just so somebody would come along and visit them during the week. That shows how important our public services are. It is not just about the postal services and post offices; it is about all our public services. Sometimes it irks me that we know the value of everything. Bean counters look for the value in things. How much will it cost us? What is the profit? What is the loss? We can never measure, and we never even attempt to measure, the positive social aspects of public services we had. When a motion is tabled on the post office, I look forward to all the people who spoke today supporting it.

Since I came into Dáil Éireann, I have been lobbying here for post offices. I did not hear it but somebody told me the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, said if we do not use it, we will lose it, and I respect that. I am 50 to 60 miles west of Kinsale but it is part of my constituency. I was in the Kinsale post office recently and they told me they were moving into new premises. I am delighted with that because it was in shook condition. I pay tribute to the postmen, postwomen and postmasters of this country who have worked extremely hard. The bottom line is they are not getting any help from the State. The Government can say it provided further moneys recently but I was talking to a postmaster who told me they are working under immense pressure. They use Windows 2008. That means An Post is trying to close post offices by stealth. This is how you do it; it is clever. There is no problem doing that. Goleen post office, which was close to my heart, was closed. It broke my bloody heart as it was in my backyard. We tried hard. There were advertisements by politicians. Everybody would love to live in Goleen but that is pure nonsense. To live in Goleen, you must work. It is a six-days-a-week job, whether we like it or not. The money is not there to do that, so when the person retires, nobody wants to take it over. Deputy Barry Ward from Dublin said the same thing. We had the same situation in Durrus couple of weeks ago. I worked with An Post tirelessly and had somebody willing to open that post office. It needed a little bit of work. For the two to three weeks before it closed the door, An Post did not help me. I found out it was not communicating the information it promised me it would communicate. It intended to close this post office. This is what is going on. It gives you this false impression, saying it is a terrible thing and that if it closes, it will make sure it reopens it again. It is mocking me to my bloody eyeballs. I had people in Durrus who wanted to keep that post office open. The first thing that went up on Facebook was that the local politician could not keep the post office open, asking what good is he. That should not come back on us. I broke my butt to keep that open and worked with somebody who was willing to do that but An Post was not there to help us. It has to be held accountable. An independent body has to come on board to do that. I am lucky I have Ballydehob and Schull with Bridie Roycroft and Wendy Briscoe, and Toby Campbell in Bantry and the O'Mahony family in Kilcrohane. They are keeping the doors open under immense pressures. We need to look at where the problem is. Churches, pubs and Garda stations are in trouble. I saw in the local newspaper the other day that Lisavaird co-op is contemplating closing. I mention Reenascreena, Ardfield and Rosscarbery creameries. Where is it going to stop? The root of all evil, and people do not talk about it half enough here, is the county development plans. We are continuously pushing people out of rural communities and into the cities, refusing planning and refusing to zone ground. We need to make changes. If we do not, all the post offices in this country will close.

We all have stories about post offices and memories of post offices. My one is waiting in my mother's car while my grandmother collected her pension. It used to take her about two and a half hours to collect the pension because she got every bit of gossip and it kept her going for the week. She got everyone's information, news and excitement. That is what a post office was about. It was about people meeting, congregating and chatting. It was the heart and soul of the community. While we have 950 post offices, 14 have closed in the past year. Those were 14 that a postmaster did not take on. We have to ask why this is. If it is not a financially viable business and someone cannot make money out of running a post office, why would they take it on? In the future when people retire, nobody will want to take on the business because it does not benefit them. I asked a guy who runs a Centra why he would not take on the post office licence. He said it is too expensive to run the post office. To have to put in this number of safes, to have to have this type of public liability insurance and to take on this number of staff would not be financially viable. We have to make post offices and that life financially viable. In France post offices deliver for pharmacies. They have secure contracts where they are delivering pharmaceuticals drugs and medicines to elderly and infirm people who cannot get out of their homes. That is another option we have not looked at. People are saying they cannot afford to put in the safe system and the whole lot. In our villages and smaller towns around the country why are we not amalgamating the Garda station and the post office? I can guarantee nobody will go in and rob a Garda station. We need to think about it. These are small things that are possible. They could be merged together and secure a community hub that way. It is about keeping it alive and keeping it in the post office.

I acknowledge the great work of the postmasters and all those who work in the post offices across the country. They have done so under immense financial pressure, opening at weekends, opening late providing tremendous value in terms of the social support that they provide so many people, in particular older people and vulnerable people. I also want to commend Catherine Delaney of Tulrohaun post office who gave 70 years of service to her community in County Mayo and who retired recently. She is a tremendous woman with a wonderful family who has worked so hard in delivering so well for the Tulrohaun, Bekan and Ballyhaunis communities. There are significant concerns about financial pressures that An Post is driving here. We are going to see the loss of further post offices over the coming years unless there is a significant change in how we support post offices. I will give one example in my area of east Mayo. I spoke to the postmaster in Kilkelly post office. Nine banks have closed in the surrounding region, including in Charlestown, Kiltimagh and Ballyhaunis. As a result of that, there has been an increasing level of service delivery in Kilkelly post office and in the surrounding post offices in Knock, Kiltimagh, Ballyhaunis and all those towns. There is a real threat that we are now going to lose them as well. I ask the Minister to seriously address this significant threat. We will see further closures particularly as postmasters retire. It is proposed to move the DSU unit from Ballyhaunis to Castlerea, which will cause mayhem in Ballyhaunis, including for the affected staff. Ballyhaunis has lost so much in recent years, including banks and reduced hours in the credit union. It is really important that we protect that DSU.

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi mo Dháilcheantar féin. Is An Post about providing a community service or is it about being a for-profit company and making money? We are not talking about Leinster House bike shed-type of wastage here or but equally the service in my constituency has degraded. Postal workers have been asked to cover larger areas. We know that the letter side has declined but the number of packages is going up as others have said. We have to look at it as a community service model going back to the days when there was a same-day postal service across the country when we did not have motorised vehicles. With the wider issue of social cohesion in towns and villages across the country, especially in rural areas, we need to rethink the post office. Whether it is linking up with credit unions or community shops, the post office should be seen as the heart of the community. No matter what level of service or what proportion is mail, there should be a post office in every town and village even if some of them are operating on a part-time basis. There are ways and means of doing that by providing access to national services locally, such as collection points for certain types of public service cards, driver's licences, etc., or as a way of getting cash or foreign exchange even if it is by appointment the day before. These are all things that can be done. There are many towns and villages with over-the-shop areas that are derelict. Our policy in terms of bringing in direct investment should be to bring these companies and their workers to rural communities and spread them out. They would have a better quality of life, more access to schools and they would keep more post offices open as well.

I support the work that is done by post offices. In my constituency of Cork East, as in other Deputies' areas, I recognise the social values that they add to communities, whether its people utilising the services in post offices or the fact it is a very important community outlet. I acknowledge that operating a post office is an expensive undertaking but it provides a community with enormous social value. In particular, it is important for elderly people who enjoy using An Post's services. Unfortunately, we have a new dynamic in the world we are living in around national security. Some European countries have phased out having a national postal service. Having an operational full service could become quite important as the world sadly enters into a time of conflict. Something we do not think about often enough in this House is the direction the world is going in. It is sadly becoming a more dangerous place. Having a means of communication other than relying completely on our mobile phones is something we need to think about an awful lot more into the future. That is why it is important to have home delivery services through a State-run postal service in this country and ensuring that we have an active and operational well-supported post office network nationwide. I wanted to come in to make that particular point.

I again acknowledge all the postmasters and postmistresses around the country for the incredible work they do. The post office is the heart and soul of rural Ireland. I acknowledge their role in providing a phenomenal service. I also acknowledge the role of our postmen and postwomen who deliver our post every day and every week. In particular, back during the Covid restrictions, sometimes the only interaction people in rural areas had was with their postman who was driving up country boreens and country lanes delivering that piece of post. It is important in the context of the debate that we acknowledge the role of our postmen and postwomen around the country and thank them for the service they provide. In that context, I wish to share a personal story. My father is retiring from the post office as a postman next month and I wish him well in his retirement. The Government is absolutely committed to supporting rural areas and we all want to see the post office network developed. The programme for Government specifically states that the Government will continue to provide a nationwide network of post offices with funding to ensure their sustainability and enhance the value they bring to local communities. I was particularly delighted in January when the Government announced that it will provide funding of €15 million out to 2030 to support the stability of the nationwide network of post offices. This a huge shot in the arm and in fairness the postmasters group lobbied very hard. That is money that is incredibly well spent and will probably be the best money the Government will spend over the next five years. Post offices are vital social links in rural communities but in urban settings as well. They are absolutely critical. They support local economies, providing essential government services. In many small towns and villages - I am thinking of my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny - the post office is the last remaining face-to-face interaction that a lot of these towns have. They provide hugely important services in towns of all sizes, but in particular in small towns. Over 1 million people every week use the post office. That is one in five people in this country every week who interact with the post office or use it for the many things that they can use it for. It is absolutely incredible that so many people are using it. We have got something in rural Ireland that works. We have something that represents everything is great about our country. We need to continue to support and enhance it. I say this from my perspective as a rural TD. Every time we hear of a post office closing in the community, it sends a shudder down the spine of those in rural communities. Anything that can be done to support rural post offices should be done.

Is mór agam an deis seo labhairt ar oifigí an phoist timpeall na tíre agus an tábhacht a bhaineann leo. I wish Deputy Cleere's father every good wish in his retirement in the month ahead. It is very important that we note the central role that post offices play. In particular, as the Deputy and other colleagues have said, I also acknowledge the important role that postmasters play. I and my Dublin colleagues in the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party have been engaging extensively with postmasters in Dublin in particular over the past year to ensure their voices are heard. We know there is an importance to post offices in rural parts of the country. However, in Dublin and other urban areas especially, where there are large numbers of people who are retired and receiving a pension, the post office is of great importance. It may be the only human interaction that many of them will experience in a week. In a world where pressure is coming on for the delivery of services to be digital first, it is important that we recognise the social good that comes from human interaction and a place that people can go to. It is not only the place where they get their pension payment for the week or do any business they need to do; it is a place to meet people. We have heard horrific stories where the postmaster raised the alarm because someone did not turn up to receive a payment and that was how it was found out that they were in difficulty or something more sinister had happened. It is important that we recognise the pivotal role that postmasters play and that is why I welcome the commitment to ensure €50 million per year goes into the post office network to ensure it is well-funded. It is also important for us to recognise that people still have an attachment to the postal service. In Denmark, the national postal service has suspended the delivery of letters. In my area of Dublin Mid-West, where we have experienced a slower delivery time for services and post in recent weeks, it has become apparent that many people still rely on the postal service. It underlines the importance of having that facility there. As Deputy O'Connor said, the fact that we now have a world where online scams are even more prevalent, having human interaction, a physical presence and a place that people can go to is very important. I cannot overemphasise the role in urban cohesion that post offices play, especially in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West but also across the Dublin area. In many cases, postmasters will know their customers by name and will be able to look after their particular needs. They give people that social outlet and human connection in a world that seems increasingly online. To people without digital skills, that can be terrifying. The post office is a safe harbour for them to go to. It should be like a commercial organisation but with a social conscience and social aim at its heart.

I welcome the debate. In my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, we have, unfortunately, lost local post office services in Monkstown and Dalkey. As other Members said, post offices are at the heart of our communities in Dublin and across rural Ireland. They are places people rely on, particularly older residents, people with disabilities and small local business owners who need dependable, face-to-face services close to home. I commend the staff and postmasters who have kept these services and offices going, often under huge pressure and with challenging and changing demands. They are, quite simply, part of the social glue of a community. I welcome the Government’s commitment to supporting the national network. This year, the Government approved renewed funding of €15 million per annum from 2026 to 2030, building on the €10 million per annum provided from 2023 to 2025 to support the stability of the network. That funding is there to give time and space for An Post to accelerate and transform the network, to broaden services and to keep local offices viable. However, funding alone is not the full answer. The priority must be to retain and protect core services that the public depend on, and chief among them is the daily delivery service. We are seeing daily delivery being reduced or removed in other countries. Ireland is different. Our settlement pattern, rural connectivity challenges and the reality that not everyone can move their lives online mean that daily delivery remains essential and not optional. While An Post is a commercial State body and operational decisions sit with its board and senior management, the public service obligation is clear. We need a network that serves every community, urban and rural alike, and we must do everything possible to protect the services that people feel in their day-to-day lives. Post offices still matter. The social benefit they provide communities matters and the Government must continue to support the network.

Before I go to Deputy Ward, I welcome to the Gallery, on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, a group from the North Leitrim Women's Centre and the representatives of Diffreen National School in County Leitrim. Both groups are most welcome, as is the Minister of State. I call Deputy Ward.

I have been listening to the debate. I am now the third TD from the Dublin Mid-West constituency to speak on An Post in the past few minutes. We are all on the same page in the area. There is a bit of an issue around the delivery of services in the area. In Dublin in the past ten years alone, 21 post offices have closed. In addition to the closure of post offices, there has also been a poorer standard for the delivery of post. I will give a couple of examples. I was contacted by a resident of Balgaddy in my constituency about not receiving post. I contacted An Post and was informed that there was no particular issue in Balgaddy. I sent a response to my constituent by post. Guess what? My constituent never received it. That tells me straight away that there is an issue. A gentleman in Fettercairn contacted me with the same problem. He said he was not receiving his post in a timely manner. He said he had seen a big decrease in services. I again contacted An Post. In its response, it stated that it was possible that issues such as sickness or absence from work were leading to a delay in delivery services. An Post needs to have a contingency plan when something like that happens. At the moment, not having a sickness absence plan is leading to people not getting or going to vital medical appointments. Another thing missing in An Post is forward planning. Clonburris is a new development in our area and a part of it is an area called Seven Mills. There are going to be over 8,000 homes across the development. A significant number have been tenanted. However, to date no dedicated post person has been assigned by An Post to deliver packages and letters to people living in Seven Mills. That is leading to a hit-and-miss service for them. The proposals for the Clonburris development passed in 2019. I was on the council at the time. Surely An Post knew it was coming. It should have had something in place to ensure the service was not lacking. A number of my family members and friends work directly for An Post, whether in sorting offices or delivering post around the area. They have told me that there have been a few changes in how deliveries are being arranged in the sorting office and being issued to postmen and postwomen. They felt they were not consulted about the changes. Because they were not consulted, it has affected the delivery of post. Excuse the pun, but this needs to be addressed.

Our post office network is absolutely vital, particularly in rural communities. I come from the constituency of Offaly, a rural county, and the post office network is vital. What we are seeing is that there are not enough incentives for people to take on post offices. I saw that in my own community where a post office was lost because there were not enough incentives for a person to take it on. A person would have to lease a premises and so forth. It is something that certainly works in Ireland. It is certainly something that we need to invest in more. We need incentives and a broader range of services. The services have been very slow to be incorporated into our postal service. If more services were being offered at our post offices, it would increase footfall. If we were to see more incentives, we would see more people willing to take on a post office in a community, to keep it there and open. That is important. The facts I want to point out, and about which I am concerned, are that since 2020, the post office network has absorbed a cost-of-living crisis marked by 15% inflation, a 30% increase in the minimum wage and a sharp decline in transaction-based income. That certainly justifies the need for more incentives. At the same time, post offices remain ineligible for many business supports that are accessible to comparable local enterprises. They are unable to increase their prices due to their contract requirements with An Post, placing them in a uniquely exposed position. Ireland currently invests €11,000 annually per post office, but Belgium invests five times that amount while Italy invests 3.4 times that amount. There is a need for further investment.

Like every other Member, I appreciate our post office network. We are sad to think that so many post offices have closed around us over the years. I remember the previous postmasters in Kilgarvan, Denis P. O'Sullivan and his brother, John O'Sullivan. Before them were Bridie and James Cronin. She used to send her brother out with the telegrams. My uncles told me a story. They met him one day going up the road with a telegram. He asked them if he had much further to go and they asked him where he was going. He told them to mind their own business and to tell him how far he had to go. That was how secretive he was supposed to remain about the telegram. That is a story of happier times. We lost Clonkeen post office, which was very close to me. We lost the post offices in Headford, Blackwater Bridge and different places. Invariably, they are the centre of each locality. If the post office is not there, a place loses its identity. We are in trouble now with so many shops closing in rural areas. In many rural villages, there is nothing left but the post office. We hope we will retain the post offices in Kilgarvan, Kenmare and Glenflesk. We appreciate the great work they do. The Government should advise people to deal with post offices for payments rather than letting them go to banks. We have done enough for the banks. Payments should always be directed to post offices to ensure business is kept in them. People should not be sent elsewhere to bigger towns because there are no longer banks in villages. As everyone else has said, it is up to the people to use their post offices because they will not have them if they do not. We lost another post office a couple of weeks ago in Cordal. A family gave great service to the area. The man who ran the post office is now a senior citizen. His father retired many years ago and he carried on the business. A tradition and a name has been lost in Cordal with the closure of the post office. We are sad about that because it was a great place for people to meet. Elderly people feel it is their job to collect a pension or whatever else. Likewise, the children's allowance and other benefits should be paid through post offices.

We have had an interesting debate. I will begin by acknowledging a very special lady in Mullagh, County Cavan, Jane Duffy, who was lovingly known as a postwoman for 38 years. She recently retired and I want to wish her and her lovely husband, Peter Duffy, the very best of luck. The night she retired epitomised what has been said across the House during this debate. The community came out in force to go to mass. Fr. Paul Prior held a beautiful ceremony for her and everybody came to the heritage centre to celebrate, acknowledge and appreciate her 38 years of service as a postwoman. What is interesting is that she became a postwoman when she left school and knew the route entirely because her dad had been a postman for 20 years prior to that. One could say she was 58 years doing the job, but we will give her her 38 years. It is incredible service, as acknowledged by the postmistress in her local area, Caitríona Monaghan, who described her as a national treasure and trailblazer for women in the workforce for giving that public service to her local community. I want to acknowledge that. Many people have done likewise in respect of those who have been postwomen and postmen the length and breadth of the country. Everyone has come from a well-intentioned place in the debate. I reassure colleagues that the Government is completely committed to our post office network. Many issues have been raised across the House. I am conscious that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, was always very mindful, before he was Minister for Social Protection, to consider the additional services that can be provided through the post office network. Post offices are the lifeblood of many communities. They are their social conscience, fabric and hub, something we have heard reiterated many times during the debate. Deputy Cathal Crowe referred to banking. Post offices provide AIB banking and savings services. They do a huge amount, a hell of a lot more than they did in the past. There is a commitment from the Government that we will find a path for them. No community wants to be without a post office. The more services they can deliver, the better. It is important to say that An Post is a trusted name. We went through a very difficult period in this country where name recognition was important. An Post has always had trustworthy name recognition, which is important to communities. We are, of course, discussing money and funding. I recognise that the postmasters' network asked the Government for €15 million in the last budget. The Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, achieved that. He achieved an ongoing secure five-year plan totalling €75 million. I do not think the Ceann Comhairle would disagree with me when I say that what organisations ask for and aspire to in budgets is not always achieved. An Post achieved the exact figure it asked for. It has a pathway and plan to find a way forward for the post office network. That should be acknowledged. This funding will support the sustainability of the nationwide network of post offices, protecting and nurturing a commercially focused post office network. We cannot kid ourselves and say that organisations in the public service can run on fresh air. They need funding, but they also have to be viable. That is why there have been some closures when nobody in a community was willing to take on a post office. We all have the same goal in mind when we are talking about the post office network. Funding will also support access for citizens to key social benefits of the post office network and help our citizens to access services effectively and equitably. It should also be noted that An Post is a commercial State body, with a mandate to act commercially. An Post has statutory responsibility for the State's postal service and the post office network. Decisions relating to the network, including decisions relating to specific post offices, are operational matters for the board and management of the company and not one for which the Government has any function. As noted earlier, support does not mean that some post offices will not close. Closures can happen for a variety of reasons, such as retirement and for personal reasons – we have heard many such anecdotal accounts during this debate. The intention is to avoid such decisions being necessary on foot of economic hardship. Again, we are trying to make it economically viable for people to keep running post offices. Some 14 post offices have permanently closed following unsuccessful efforts to appoint new postmasters since January 2025. In every case, vacancies were advertised multiple times and local engagement was undertaken. The post office on the main street in my town, Bailieborough, closed due to retirement. A family had given many years of good service. That will happen. Therefore, we need other entities in the community, whether it be a local SuperValu or Centra, to take on the responsibility of providing the service. We have to acknowledge the expense of doing that. It is not a decision that can be taken lightly. An Post has not closed any post offices. A post office closure follows a decision by an individual postmaster to exit the business. The majority of closures resulted from postmaster retirement. At present, there are 873 active post offices and most are operated by independent postmasters, with 41 offices directly operated by An Post. It is a nationwide network of significant scale, providing economic and social benefits to urban and rural citizens across the country. Each year there is what would be described as churn within the network. An Post advises that approximately 70 to 80 post offices change ownership for a variety of reasons, including a postmaster taking over an existing premises, a relocation by an existing postmaster to a modern accessible premises or a new postmaster taking over and relocating to a fit-for-purpose premises. With regard to the sale of An Post buildings, all State bodies are required to seek the approval of the relevant Minister and Minister for public expenditure in advance of any material acquisition or disposal of land, buildings or other material assets proposed by a State body. An Post is aware of the requirement for compliance with the code of practice. The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport will consider proposals from An Post on receipt of any such request for approval.

On a point of order, I have to call a quorum because this is of such significance. The Government has set aside time for statements on a whole range of different things. I call a quorum.

I accept the Deputy's point of order. The quorum is established once we resume in session. It does not have to continue at all times in the Chamber but I appreciate the point of order and I know there are no other Deputies present.

I think it is disrespectful to the Minister of State.

The programme for Government commits to the Government partnering with An Post and local communities to identify and preserve heritage post office buildings that are no longer in operation, respecting their historical value and exploring potential new uses. The Department is working in the first instance with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss possible options. An Post also advises that it has a protocol in place which seeks to find the best future uses for these buildings, working with stakeholders such as the LDA and local authorities. The Government is truly committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network. It is an integral part of our economic and social infrastructure and plays a significant role in our lives. In times of crisis, such as during severe storms, it has even provided a lifeline to communities during the recovery. This was certainly the case during Covid. The Government will continue to support the network and the postmasters who operate on a daily basis and preserve its position in the heart of local communities. I thank the Minister for her support here tonight. In my ten years here, I do not believe I have ever before seen Private Members' business being brought forward and nobody from the party that brought it forward being here to hear the response.