I agree with the previous speakers. I welcome the statements on post office closures. It is important to highlight the work of the post offices across the country and what the Government is doing to help this sector and provide the key public service. It is a huge public service and a service we depend on. It is important, particularly for our rural post offices, which have always played an important role in connecting people. Whether a letter or package needs to get from Buncrana to Bantry, Bagenalstown to Carlow, or even to Bondi Beach, An Post will find a way to get it there. That is a fact. It will find a way. There are currently hundreds of post offices across the country serving almost 100,000 customers a week, whether selling stamps or providing social welfare payments. Each day, An Post collects, processes and delivers 2.5 million items of mail to 2 million addresses daily. Some 95% of post offices are run by contract postmasters. It is really important to thank them and their team for the valuable work they do in our local communities. They are absolutely brilliant and the service they give to communities is exceptional because they handle each transaction and delivery with care. They keep our local communities moving. I highlight one in particular in my constituency which stands out - Fenagh in County Carlow. It is a small post office called the Black Cat. Locals are able to avail of services they would otherwise have to drive into the town centre for. I would always say when going into Fenagh that the post office there is like a social outlet for our elderly community. People can go in, talk, and get a few groceries or whatever. It keeps our villages going, particularly in the rural areas. I see other areas with a post office in a SuperValu where people can go in and shop but there are also family-run post offices that go beyond the call of duty. The post office provides services beyond selling stamps and taking in parcels. In the post office, members of the community are able to collect their social welfare payments, pay their TV licence and buy a Leap card. Post offices and their workers look out for their neighbours, giving the older members of our community a social outlet and assisting in tasks that may have moved online. Both Ministers spoke about how things are changing. Many things are going online, so we have to be mindful of that. When paying a home heating bill or electricity bill, there is the friendly face at a local post office. The workers there can help, whether with a phone call or just giving advice. It is all about helping. They really do an excellent job. The Government understands the essential service our post offices are providing day in, day out. The Minister spoke about the €15 million. This is about sustainable national post office services, the post office network, the support it provides, and the infrastructure around Ireland. That money is vital. On 13 January the Government approved funding for the post office network up to 2030 to support citizens' access to key services. This funding will maintain access to the network across urban and rural areas. As the Ministers said, it is both urban and rural. It will ensure no community is left behind. That is important because everybody is so busy now. As was said, it is important the public uses the facility of our post offices because it is an excellent service. We spoke about the big boom in the e-commerce business across the country. I have always been a big supporter of shopping locally. I firmly believe that no matter where people live in the country, they should shop locally and keep the jobs, which is so important. However, with this new digital age we are living in, many businesses in my area have developed websites for online orders. This is a great way for a business to expand, yet there is another way and opportunity for our post office to support and assist the communities. I support An Post in its efforts to provide its important services, while remaining true to its net-zero targets. It is currently in possession of the largest e-vehicle fleet in the country, and it is introducing more sustainable forms of fuelling with its other vehicles, so it is very much on top of its brief. It is important that we give it this credit. These green choices by An Post show its determination to continue adapting to our new ways of doing business and serving communities in a sustainable way. Our post offices have been a steadfast pillar of our communities for many years and with the boom we are experiencing in e-commerce business, our postmen and women up and down the country will continue to support our communities, and the Government will continue to support them in their important tasks.

Sentiment score: 0.27