Labour's communications spokesman Tommy Broughan said a "staggering" total of 44 post offices had closed in the past 11 months.
Last January, there were 1,321 sub-post offices across the State, while now there were just 1,281.
"In my constituency, the post office at Priorswood was closed down in March last, causing devastation to the local community with a catchment area of more than 2,000 households.
"A group of outstanding local traders was willing and able to take over the management of the Priorswood post office, to avoid it being shut down, but faced a brick wall from An Post's management.
"Amazingly, neither An Post nor the department could or would provide them with any criteria which may exist to facilitate the opening or closing of post offices."
Mr Broughan was speaking during the resumed debate on a Fine Gael Private Member's motion opposing the closure of post offices. He said the Irish Postmasters' Union had highlighted the major difficulties faced by postmasters and postmistresses on a daily basis.
These included the non-automation of nearly 300 post offices. He warned that the fact that hundreds of post offices were not fully automated would seriously affect the operation of the new deal with Belgian bank Fortis for the provision of financial services.
James Breen (Independent, Clare) emphasised the role of a post office in a community.
Their closure had also resulted in many pensioners having to travel long distances to their nearest post office to collect pensions, he said. In the absence of public transport, it was often necessary to hire taxis.
