Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the amendments put forward by Deputy Ó Snodaigh. The fact that An Post has been omitted from the 2005 Consolidation Act is the key thing. An Post should be allowed remain in the legislation in order to allow for the continuation of the Consolidation Act. An Post, as a potential service provider, should not be taken out of the legislation.

I have said a lot on this matter that I will not repeat here. It is a fact that 18% of Irish people do not have bank accounts and 23% do not have Internet access. There is a social aspect to An Post and its 1,100 post offices serve the population very well. As has been said, An Post gives people an opportunity to interact with staff and pay bills by making small payments of €10 or €15 which is very important when people are experiencing straitened times and must carefully budget in order to pay bills.

An Post should be included in the legislation. I do not see why the Minister cannot leave it in because leaving it in will not cause a major problem. Taking An Post out of it is a negative signal, particularly to post office workers. A commitment was given in the programme for Government to do as much as possible to keep post offices vibrant in any way possible.

I agree with Deputy Naughten's point about the tendering process. Aspects of the process can request that a service provider meet the level of service provided by post offices. An Post has 1,100 outlets that provide services to 38% of the population. People can get assistance to fill out forms, etc. in the post office which is an important social service and, therefore, should protect the services within the post office network. It is not a question of me, or other Deputies, having a quintessential affection for the post office. The truth is they play a key role in urban and rural communities. Therefore, the Minister should accept Deputy O'Snodaigh's amendments.

An Post can develop services. When I worked in the post office staff were asked whether they wanted their wages paid into their bank accounts. Many of us opted to have our wages paid into our post office savings accounts, an arrangement that worked very well. An Post can provide a similar service in other instances and it is an option that could be examined.