Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on the matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Éamon Ryan and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially and, as such, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions on the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and the management of the company, and not ones in which the Minister has a statutory function.

However, both the Minister and the Minister of State are aware of the impact that decisions relating to changes in An Post operations have on communities and individuals both in rural and urban areas. The Department will engage with An Post to outline and highlight the concerns that have been raised by staff, consumers and the wider community.

As the Deputy outlined, in line with its ongoing transformation, An Post announced last week that it proposes to convert six post offices from An Post-run to contractor-run. One of these is in Tipperary town. Fewer than 40 post offices out of a total of more than 900 across the State are now run directly by An Post. An Post has outlined that the change in business model of the six offices will not in any way change the range or extent of services offered by the company in those selected locations. The company remains committed to providing each area with the highest level of service for the future.

An Post has advised that staff who are employed at post offices in question will have the option to take up employment as a new postmaster or to be redeployed within the network. The Government’s objectives for An Post network include harnessing the opportunities presented by e-commerce and digital economy, delivering a sustainable nationwide post office network at the heart of communities, and offering a range of e-commerce, financial and government services.

The Government agreed that €10 million per annum will be provided by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications over a three-year fixed term from 2023 to 2025 to support the postmasters, with funding to be dispersed across the post office network. The funding will be paid monthly for each 12-month period. More than €9.7 million has been claimed by An Post for 2023 for the postmaster network.

The programme for Government recognises that a modernised post office network will provide a better range of financial services and e-commerce services for citizens and enterprise, as part of our commitment to a sustainable nationwide post office network. The overall €30 million in funding that is being provided to support a sustainable nationwide post office network is in line with this commitment.

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