The new deal for post offices has been endorsed by 80% of postmasters and postmistresses. Of the 1,189 post offices, 584 voted in favour. Did any of the postmasters and postmistresses seek legal advice on what they were signing? Incidentally, the documents they signed are not legally binding. They were offered a new contract, which involves taking an exit package of €15,000 or €25,000. Those who choose to remain on the current package face being wound down as their income will be only be guaranteed for two and a half years, after which they will be on their own. It costs €75 million per annum to run the post office network, yet the Government only committed €30 million this year, of which €15 million is for the mail division and a further €15 million is for the post office network. It is proposed to shut down 390 post office branches, which means only the great will survive. The banks have left our towns and villages and members of the public must deal with machines every time they visit a bank branch, even in Ranelagh.

Hear, hear.

They have effectively gone from rural Ireland but we need not worry because the post offices will do the job for them. What job? That is my question for this morning. The post office is going to bolster the immoral failing banks.

They tried this in the UK. The UK wanted to bail out the post offices because the banks were making all the profits. Why can we not have the Kiwi community banking system developed in Ireland? It could be given to the post offices as opposed to using the greed of our failing banks through the post offices while taking all the profits. Why will this new pilot banking system not be allowed through our post offices? The Government says it will put the banking services into the post offices. What banking services is it talking about? It is talking about the already big greedy banks we have in Ireland. The Kiwi banking community systems operates in New Zealand. After 19 years the system commands 20% of the actual profits. Can we imagine such money being put back into locales?

Hear, hear.

I know I have gone on a little. What has happened to promote the Private Members' motion signed up to by 158 people in the Dáil on the Kiwi banking system?

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I want the Minister to come in. I would like to ask him to explain these questions. I heard the Minister speaking in the Dáil last evening to Deputy Harty. He did not explain the answers to any of these questions. This is serious because it is about privatisation. It is about the big boys staying as the big boys and the bigger boys, who have failed this country banking-wise, being put in as kind of mentors for our already brilliant post offices. No new system is being allowed in the door. We keep on pushing it onto a shelf. We do not deal with it even as a pilot programme in three or four banks. Why can the Kiwi community system of banking not be put in as a pilot programme? I would like the Minister to answer some of those questions so I am proposing an amendment to the Order of Business.