Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for what has been a very intensive round of submissions. There is much to take in and it is unfortunate that we probably do not have more time to address the matter. I will not go back over what has already been addressed. It is clear there is a recognition by all sides of the perilous state that the company finds itself in and an acceptance in general that some drastic action must take place. I am not overstating or understating the issue. There is some change in emphasis in how this might be addressed.

From our perspective, the first matter we must address is whether we support the proposed legislation. It seems from my party's perspective that there is a necessity to do something immediately to address the financial hole emerging in the An Post balance sheet. This seems to be the most obvious way to do that. I am taken very considerably by Mr. Pigot's comments and I ask Mr. McRedmond in the context of his internal review and the work of McKinsey if there has been consultation with Mr. Pigot and those like him in his company in addressing proposals.

Mr. O'Brien made an important point towards the end of his presentation, which contained much good stuff, in saying that ultimately there should be a fundamental consideration of what type of universal service is required and desired by the State. That will pose a significant question to An Post and McKinsey in terms of the proposal it has brought forward, as well as Mr. Kerr. It asks if consideration had been given in Mr. Kerr's report to looking at the current universal service obligation of next-day delivery. Ms Cronin indicated the Government's position is very strong in retaining that. If we bring all that together, the question to Mr. McRedmond is whether he believes it is sustainable. Does he believe it is possible to have An Post operating in a financially viable manner, taking into consideration all the pressures that have been identified? Will it be possible to maintain that into the future?

Following from the Chairman's comments on the Kerr report and the difficulty in taking it as an implementable plan, is it Mr. McRedmond's belief, based on the terms of reference that have been provided to McKinsey, that he will get back a deliverable or output from that process that will be an action plan or where an action plan will have to be developed from the conclusions of the report? I ask this not to be overly prurient about how the company does its business but with regard to timing. It is clear from the comments of Mr. O'Hara and others that there is an immediacy about addressing this. There was mention of the end of quarter two for the production of that report but will that be the definitive report and action plan at appendix two, five or whatever? Will it be just a document forming the basis for an action plan that the management team will have to put forward?