Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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Thank you very much, Mr. Mulvey, for your comprehensive statement and remarks. They are very much appreciated. I have a speaking rota and I happen to be first on the list and I will then take Deputies Crowe and Smith, just to be fair to everybody. If any members come in later, they can contribute as well.

I am an suburban TD and to the best of my knowledge, there are four post offices within 5 km of my home. From that perspective, I am very well catered for. However, I am very conscious of my non-suburban and urban colleagues from around the country who live in what might be termed the rapidly changing world that An Post and rural communities find themselves in. Even with working from home being a lot more prevalent than it was, we are seeing it ebbing away slightly. Nonetheless, I know there is great viability and vitality in rural communities but I often wonder about sustaining those post offices and ensuring there is a viable business and livelihood for the postmasters within the system. Mr. Mulvey touched on this, which is a very welcome place to start the conversation about how An Post can diversify into the rapidly changing world he mentioned. I am keen to explore the potential for joint ventures with further remarks from him regarding what sort of joint ventures has he in mind. He outlined one or two but is there the capacity for the organisation with that borrowing limit and most of its capital tied up? What sort of companies would An Post be looking to partner with and what services would it be looking to provide? What actions are required from the Houses of the Oireachtas to achieve these goals?

We have seen a transformation in the postal market. I have been a public representative for 20 years and I recall quite vividly the number of letters I used to get, even up to 13 years ago, when I became a Member of this House. A good half of my communications were letters. Now, it is notable when I get a letter in the post from a constituent. I got one last week and I got one in my constituency office on Monday. I have not checked the post this week. My team probably has but I cannot say I saw a letter. This is an indication of the change that has occurred. As a result of not getting letters, I am not sending a lot of letters back. That is the challenge for An Post.

Mr. Mulvey identified the parcel business and about how Irish people are good online shoppers. My wife will be pleased to hear that because packages arrive constantly to our house. We recently installed a Ring doorbell so I know when An Post calls because I am able to see it on my phone. This is obviously a market An Post is perfectly set up to dominate in Ireland. How would An Post like to try to achieve that? I understand that there are a lot of private operators doing it at cut prices but with the network An Post has available, this is the clear path in terms of the traditional function of An Post, which is delivering the post. We can then consider all the other benefits An Post wants to bring to it and has done over many years.

The most important aspect of my remarks is to emphasise the retention of post offices in rural Ireland. They are essential, not just in terms of social welfare but also because of the social aspect they bring. As our population ages, there are many people for whom their only social interaction is the trip to the post office. The organisation is very important in facilitating this social interaction. We need to find a way to increase the average annual salary of €75,000 that Mr. Mulvey mentioned, to make the postmasters' businesses more viable, particularly outside of urban and suburban environments like mine. Mr. Mulvey's remarks on these points would be very welcome.