Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As my party's spokesperson on this issue, we are very concerned about the slippage and the fact that some of these issues were highlighted in 1987. In the early 2000s there was a lot of talk about trying to reform the post office network. Time has been lost and we are trying to play catch-up. Since the formation of this Dáil a year and a half ago we have discussed this issue at the committee many times. We have met several lobbyists outside and the delegates formally inside this room. I am concerned about the lack of a combined drive to put in place a sustainable post office network. I heard what was said here today and have read the presentations. I welcome much of what is contained in them, but I do not get a sense that we are all driving forward together. When things got going in difficult times it was because somebody had taken them by the scruff of the neck. I do not want to speak for Mr. Bobby Kerr, but I listen to him very carefully when he speaks about this issue. I sense his frustration at the delay and inaction. We have met him.

My concern is that, while we took some convincing, the cost of the national postage stamp has increased to €1. I would not have gone that far, but we were convinced reluctantly to go that far. I have spoken to Mr. McRedmond about this a couple of times. He worked in Tesco and knows that something on the shelf is not priced at €1 but at 99 cent. Once the price moves into three figures, it is in a different domain. There is a psychological effect. To what extent is this responsible for the 7.5% reduction in mail volumes this year?

I expressed concern at the time that the price increase would accelerate the reduction in mail volumes, which is what seems to be happening. Do the price increase and the €30 million loan amount to a band aid solution which seeks to address the problem from the wrong end?

I accept that it will take time to put the new services in place. Sinn Féin has argued strongly for several years that expanding the range of services is key to securing the future of the post office network. If we do not do so, things simply will not stack up. We have heard from Age Action Ireland and other representatives about the importance of the social aspect of the service provided by post offices. The range of services must be extended in order to secure a volume of business that will ensure a dynamic service into the future. We do not want to see it on its last legs again in ten years' time. I agree with Mr. McRedmond's observation that the post office should the State's office in every town and village. In my county of Laois I said at the time that the closure of the post office in Ballacolla meant we had lost three legs of the stool, the others being the local Garda station and the local shops. The social benefit in having people go into the village one day a week is taken away if they have to go to Durrow or Abbeyleix.

Additional moneys have been allocated to An Post, but a question mark remains over their purpose. The delegates from the Irish Postmasters Union have asked legitimate questions about the €30 million loan and what new services are planned. If we do not take the matter by the scruff of the neck now, we will be in trouble. We must drive on in expanding the services offered and avail of the opportunities to provide banking services, the German Sparkasse model and so on. A pilot project in conjunction with the credit unions is in place and should be expanded. The possibilities in regard to the administration of car tax payments were first debated in the Dáil in 1987. Thirty years later our hair is much greyer. Time has passed, but we have not caught up with it. None of us wants to see a post office service that is limping along on a crutch and will be decrepit in ten years' time. We need a dynamic network that will function as the State office in every town, offering customers a range of services. Change is difficult and not everybody will be happy about it. However, if people see positive outcomes and that a dynamic structure is in place, they will get on board.