Mr. David McRedmond:

Both the Tánaiste and the Leader of the Opposition – the leader of Fianna Fáil – strongly asked us to reconsider the decision. They were both clearly unhappy with it, but I was clear that the decision had not been made lightly. We used external consultants who had been given an extended period to ensure the decision was, to the best of our ability, objective about the future of An Post. It also took into consideration a broad range of issues, including the re-employment of employees.