Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his questions. I was shocked by the figures presented to me at the end of October 2016 because I had been presented with a different set of figures shortly before then. As a result, I asked New Economy and Recovery Authority, NewERA, which is part of the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, and which was established to advise Ministers on the operation of semi-State companies, to go through the books. I deferred making any decision until I had received a detailed report from NewERA and there was engagement with the authority on various figures. I wanted to make sure I had an accurate reflection of what was going on in the company because the last thing I needed was to be put into a position where this was thrown at me to make a quick decision. We did not do that. We went through all those figures rigorously and had them independently assessed by NewERA.

The Deputy is correct that no single service will maintain the post office network. The NTMA service in respect of State savings and the social welfare contract are the two big financial drivers of the post office network but they alone will not maintain post offices. We and the management team in An Post are considering bringing in new services. Footfall and transaction numbers in the post office have increased through a range of new services and, as a result, there is a sustainable network into the future.

In response to the question about the An Post agency, that is effectively what is happening with PostPoint. An Post is studying how it can develop the franchise to expand into other services that it has not offered up to now. That may also be in respect of social welfare services or payments. There is also the opportunity through the An Post smart account for people to use the card in a local Centra, SuperValu or Spar to make their purchases and get cash back. Technology has moved on and An Post is exploring all those options.