Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

This is an important Bill which follows on from a process of changing the way the postal system operates in Ireland which has been under way since the late 1990s. It is the third and final phase of deregulation of the postal market and deals with the small envelope market, those weighing under 50g. It deals with two elements, namely, the introduction of competition into the 50g envelope market and the introduction of postcodes. The changes must be carefully considered to ensure we do not make mistakes similar to those that were made in other European countries which led to a poorer service, higher costs and job losses. Postal delivery is a vital public service. We must ensure that every household and business continues to receive a good service through the postal system. It is essential to the social well-being of our local communities and to maintaining the fabric of rural Ireland where the service is not as difficult to provide in some cases as in urban areas.

In the absence of a proven method of financing, there are serious questions we have to consider in terms of the universal service obligation and how it will be financed. I am glad the Bill has been amended to ensure that the universal service obligation will be offered to An Post for a period of 20 years rather than the seven years originally intended. That is an important change. We must take on board the lessons learned from the service delivery in other countries, particularly in the United Kingdom where the introduction of a universal service obligation threatened the structure. The experience of the Royal Mail shows how important it is to get the universal service obligation correct to ensure that, with privatisation, the service to the end user and the daily service which is so important across the country is maintained. If it is handled poorly, it could endanger An Post and many of the 10,000 jobs it provides.

An issue of which we must take cognisance is that of cherry picking, namely, ensuring that new entrants to the postal market do not take only the profitable routes and leave the more difficult and less profitable routes for the State to subsidise while those private operators make money out of the system. Such cherry picking of routes would result in a reduction in the vital revenues of An Post and leave it with only loss making routes, which, in turn, would threaten its provision of and ability to operate the universal service obligation.

An unfortunate aspect of privatisation is that it often goes hand in hand with job losses. That has been the experience across different sectors. According to a comprehensive study conducted by the Union Network International across several liberalised markets, this has been the experience in almost every case in which a postal market has been opened to competition.

Social dumping is another serious issue, whereby decent jobs with reasonable terms and conditions are replaced by less attractive employment at lower levels of remuneration. At a time when unemployment is high across the country and many households depend on the jobs provided by An Post, it is important we ensure these jobs, which are particularly important to rural areas, do not become less attractive or force people into a more difficult situation.

The social value of the postal service is acknowledged across the State, and particularly in rural communities. During last year's difficult weather conditions, postmen took their lives into their own hands to venture down frozen roads. The postman was the only person the inhabitants of many of these areas saw during that period. In my area, postmen volunteered to pass on messages and ensure vulnerable people were being looked after. That role is not directly linked to the provision of postal service but it is very important to communities and we must ensure it is maintained. It is remarkable that the legislation does not refer to the vital role the postal network plays in rural communities. The regulator's decisions must take account of the valuable service that postmen offer. With our substantial rural population, we have to ensure the interests of a competitive market do not take precedence over this community service.

Despite the fact that An Post remains a public company, it works quite well in terms of the service it provides to end users. It currently employs 10,000 staff and every day it delivers 2.5 million items of mail to 2.2 million businesses and residential addresses across the country. It serves 1.7 million customers per week through its network and the purchase and servicing of its vehicles, uniforms and other equipment provide spin-off benefits to local suppliers throughout the State.

The planned introduction of a post code is long overdue. We are now the only country in Europe which has not introduced a post code. Alongside the privatisation of the postal market, post codes are critical to ensuring that the postal service is operated as effectively and cheaply as possible. It will be of particular benefit to rural areas which do not have the unique addresses enjoyed by those who live in cities and towns. In country townlands where doors are not numbered it can be nigh impossible to identify the proper address. Often in rural communities the regular postman is the only person who can deliver letters to the intended address and deliveries can be a nightmare for a temporary replacement. Post codes are essential to allowing other operators to enter the market and for businesses to minimise the cost of sending post. It will be possible to address mail to individuals within households. I have heard numerous complaints from businesses and organisations with countrywide membership regarding the difficulty of identifying exactly who lives in a household in order to send one notification instead of several to the same address.

The initial intention behind the privatisation of Eircom and deregulation of the telecommunications market was to ensure a high quality of services for end users. Unfortunately, large tracts in the more peripheral areas of the country still do not have a decent service. The State has been removed from being able to invest directly to provide services to areas which are not financially rewarding. We must take cognisance of the Eircom experience as we deliberate on this Bill. Although we are not dealing with physical infrastructure in the sense of telephone lines, investment and subsidies will nonetheless be required either from the Government or through charges on those who get contracts in lucrative areas.

Although the intentions behind the Bill are good, we have to ensure it is implemented in a way that provides an equal service to everyone. Companies should not be allowed to profit while some of our citizens suffer.

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