I raise the decision to remove the post office in Liberty Square in Thurles town. An Post will not listen to anybody but the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, is present and I hope that he will listen to the people. A large protest march will take place in the town next Friday morning. The people of Thurles town, especially the business people, do not want the post office to be moved out to the shopping centre. It is a case of big business once again swallowing up ordinary people's-----

The Deputy could be speaking about any post office in the county.

The post office in question is a major one. We have closed enough of them without closing one in the town that is viable and beneficial in the square. It cannot be moved from Liberty Square and it must be left there. The Minister cannot wash his hands of the matter like Pontius Pilate. The Government is responsible and it will know about it come election time.

I call Deputies Cahill and Lowry on the same matter.

The national planning framework for 2040 is an initiative of the Government to support town centres but a semi-State body is flying directly in the face of that. A business man is prepared to buy from An Post the post office building in Thurles, which is a listed building, refurbish it to the highest possible standard and lease it back to An Post. The Minister must direct An Post to allow this to happen because if the closure is allowed to proceed, it will decimate Liberty Square in Thurles.

Will the Minister facilitate a meeting between the Oireachtas representatives for County Tipperary and the chairman and chief executive of An Post to explain the logic, rationale or basis on which An Post is making the decision? It has caused much consternation, particularly among the business community and older people who use the existing post office.

An Post is a commercial State company. It is responsible for its day-to-day decisions and is undertaking a major reorganisation of its services. In that context, it wants to improve the services it provides in Thurles and intends to expand those services in a new premises. I do not have a role in that decision. If Deputies are anxious to call the chairman or chief executive before an Oireachtas committee, that is their right. The company is seeking to deliver a better service for the people of Thurles, which is its motivation, and it is answerable for its decision to its board.