On page 38 of the programme for Government there is a commitment to secure the future of the post office network. At a meeting in Kilkenny in May most postmasters told me that nothing had been done, despite all of the Government's talk and promises. Yesterday the Irish Postmasters' Union refuted plans proposed by An Post for future contracts between the two. It argues that most post offices are being closed by stealth and that when postmasters and postmistresses retire, An Post tries to close their former post offices. The Government is standing idly by, although we have been promised plans by the Minister. I believe he is due to meet the Irish Postmasters' Union tomorrow. What is the Government going to do to save post offices not only in rural Ireland but everywhere?

The Government is very aware of the importance of the post office network around the country and the value that people attach to it in their communities. It is important to point out the number of post offices closed between 2002 and 2011 during the last Fianna Fáil Government was 700. However, in the past five or six years, notwithstanding the economic downturn, the number of post offices that closed was 40. Ultimately, when post offices do close it is because they become commercially non-viable and it is no longer possible to find a postmaster to run them. I am very much of the view that we should not judge the success of rural Ireland based on the number of post offices. People in rural areas, just as is the case in urban areas, use post offices less and less because more people are at work and more people have broadband and tend to do things online. If we judge the success of rural Ireland it should not be based on the number of post offices, it should be based on the number of jobs, the population, the quality of infrastructure, schools and all of these factors.

The Taoiseach did not answer me.