Postal and Telecommunications Services (Amendment) Bill 2026 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-14 ============================================================ Alison Comyn (FF), Nominated by the Taoiseach I thank the Minister of State for attending and I wholeheartedly welcome this important Bill. I will take the opportunity to explain why this legislation really matters. On the face of it, it is a relatively straightforward Bill that provides the legal basis for funding already agreed by Government, allowing €15 million per year to be invested in our nationwide post office network between now and 2030. Behind that technical amendment is something much more significant. We all know post offices are way more than just a postage stamp or parcel. For many people, it is one of the few places they visit every week. It is where pensions are collected, bills are paid, passports are processed, banking is done and people can call in knowing they will be greeted by someone they know well and who knows them. In many communities in rural Ireland and, increasingly, in our towns as well, the post office remains one of the last truly local public services. We remember what a lifeline post offices and the postmen and postwomen coming to the houses during Covid were. They were vitally important. Communications have changed beyond recognition over the past two decades. Letters have given way to emails, online banking has replaced many over-the-counter transactions and more and more public services have moved online, yet the need for trusted, accessible, face-to-face services has not disappeared. In fact, they have become even more important. Ireland's network of around 930 post offices remains the largest retail network in the State, serving well over 1 million customers every week. That tells us something important. Despite all the technological change, people still value the reassurance, convenience and trust that comes with the local post office. That is why this investment is so important. The €75 million being provided over the next five years is not simply about maintaining buildings; it is an investment in connectivity, inclusion and community resilience. It recognises these services cannot and should not exist solely online. We often speak about digital transformation, and rightly so, but many older people – in fact, not only older people – are not as comfortable carrying out transactions online. They are much more comfortable face-to-face. That could be down to broadband connectivity, poor mobile coverage or simply lack of confidence. We all hear about scams every day of the week. Even I sometimes worry about doing business online. For those people, the post office is not just a convenience; it is an essential service. As a spokesperson for communications, I believe this debate should be about the future, rather than simply preserving the past or what we have at the moment. Supporting the post office network should not be about standing still; it should mean giving the network every opportunity to evolve. As the Minister of State mentioned, none of this would be possible without the hundreds of independent postmasters and postmistresses who operate their businesses across the country. They are much more than service providers. I have spoken to them all in our community. We all know them really well. They know their communities and their customers. They often recognise when somebody has not called in as expected. They have saved lives over the years. That human connection is something we should never underestimate. We must continue to engage with the Department and An Post to make sure these men and women know they are valued and looked after, especially in retirement, financial security-wise. As our population ages and concerns around loneliness and isolation continue to grow, places where people are recognised, welcomed and treated with dignity become increasingly valuable. As a Louth-based Senator, I recognise the important regional dimension to the debate. The Government has rightly committed itself to balanced regional development. If we want people to continue living and working in rural Ireland and in small towns, then essential services must continue to exist in those communities. The post office network forms part of that essential infrastructure. Once it is lost, rebuilding it would be extraordinarily difficult. This Bill provides the legal mechanism to continue funding the network over the next five years. It sends a clear signal that the Government recognises the importance of maintaining a nationwide post office service, while supporting its continued development and adaptation. For those reasons, we support this Bill and hope that it has a swift passage through the Houses. It is investment not only in post offices themselves but in the people and the communities they continue to serve every single day. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-14/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:15+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-14