Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very clear that the network and the corporate entity of An Post have been drifting into a fairly serious crisis over a long period. Some of those here may not have been in positions of responsibility during much of that time. Since this committee was formed at the start of last summer and the appearance here of the new chairman it has been clear that the company had major problems. I do not profess to be an expert in corporate entities but I am chairperson of a small company and that type of drift would not go on from one month to the next without people being called in and action being taken.

The corrective action that is needed would be monitored every month. The first thing that An Post, as a big semi-State company, needs to do is to get out of this position. It needs to start getting on top of things. The Minister and the Department need to keep a close eye on things in this committee and this House to ensure this is happening.

I would like to speak about the network in the first instance. I read the Kerr report very carefully. It was one of the first things I did after the formation of the Government. I felt it was important as an Opposition spokesperson to do so. I think there are many good ideas in the report. There are many things in the Kerr report that Sinn Féin would have suggested and agreed with over the years.

I would like to ask Mr. Kerr a question about the smaller post offices. The social importance of the network is a reality, just as the commercial reality is. In small villages and towns, services are provided in small clusters by shops, post offices, pubs and Garda stations. If one of those facilities is withdrawn, the hub is reduced and the cluster loses some of its effectiveness. Has the issue of shorter opening hours been considered? Perhaps post offices could open in the mornings only. Maybe they do not have to open every day of the week. Have such options been examined?

Regarding the investment of €56 million, I am concerned that the larger and more commercially viable post offices are getting the largest slice of the cake. I am not sure that is what is needed. It has been mentioned that banking services will be provided at larger post offices. Is it proposed that full banking services will be available at smaller post offices? Would the single payment account be available at every post office? I think that would be important.

Mr. McRedmond of An Post management said that the plan does not go far enough. I agree with his point that in light of the scale of the drift, we will have one chance to do this. I think there has been a scandalous drift. It is regrettable that we have allowed it to get to this point, but we are here now. Tomorrow is the first day of the future. We cannot go backwards. In what way does the plan not go far enough, according to Mr. McRedmond? I would like him to articulate or spell out his views in this regard.

Mr. Kerr and the IPU have suggested that the recommendations need to be implemented quickly. What kind of timescale do they have in mind? The IPU suggested that new services could be provided at post offices. Mr. O'Hara referred to the role played by peace commissioners. I remind him that the position of peace commissioner is a voluntary one. Is the IPU suggesting that people should charge for signing forms? I know that those who carry out this role at present, one of whom is my wife, are happy to do so on a voluntary basis. I have had to go to peace commissioners over the years. I have never been asked to pay anything in return for their services. My own view is that the current position should not change. There is a good tradition of civic duty in Ireland. People like to provide things voluntarily. Is the IPU suggesting that its members should receive a payment if they were to take on this service?

I would like to pick up on the point made by Mr. Pigot of Tico Mail Works about the amount of wriggle room or elasticity it enjoys when it is charging for mail. I am not convinced about that. He probably has a point. I think we need to take on board Age Action Ireland's point that many elderly people who live alone depend solely on the State pension and have to pay all their household bills from their low incomes. I think a price increase would lead to a reduction in the use of the post office by those who depend on it most. I am sure the statistics we heard from Age Action Ireland have been researched. Mr. Moran told us that just 3% of those over the age of 75 use the Internet and e-mail. This means such people depend heavily on the services of An Post. I would question the point made by Mr. Pigot. He might flesh it out a little bit more.