Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)

I am disappointed but not surprised to see this legislation before the House. The legislation was introduced by the previous Government and it has been taken over hook, line and sinker by the new one. I suppose it is in line with what has happened in other areas. There is has been a seamless transition from opposition to Government.

It is disappointing that the new Government has taken this legislation on board. I am particularly disappointed to see a Labour Party Minister doing so. The legislation is before the House as a result of the EU postal directive. The liberalisation we see throughout Europe gives the impression that one will get something good, new and improved from the situation but all indications from Europe are that this liberalisation results in the decimation of the service provided and acts as a forerunner to privatisation. If it is not broken, why fix it? I will not support this legislation.

We are talking about An Post and it is worth hearing background information. Postage costs in Ireland are the eighth lowest in 29 European countries. An Post is the seventh most efficient operator of postal services in these 29 countries. In the past 20 years there have been only three price increases, which lagged behind inflation for the same period. An Post operates without any State subvention or taxpayer support. It employs approximately 10,000 staff and on a daily basis it processes and delivers approximately 2.5 million items of mail to 2.2 million businesses and residential addresses. It uses a fleet of over 2,500 vehicles and 650 bicycles. Every week, An Post serves 1.7 million customers through its unique national network. It is a profitable organisation.

Others have referred to the excellent service it provides. I refer to the excellent service provided during the difficult weather periods at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I live outside the town of Clonmel, at the foot of the Comeragh Mountains. During the spell of bad weather, all dwellings in the area received post. Normally the delivery is made by van but over that fortnight post was delivered on foot by postmen and both women to various premises and residences. The service also provides a service in rural areas to rural communities. In many places, the only person seen by some people on a daily or weekly basis is the local postman. The postman may take on the role of a social worker in keeping an eye on elderly people. He provides a service that is second to none and it will disappear in time if this legislation is passed and implemented.

Due to all this liberalisation in many other EU countries, profitable sections of the business are cherry picked by operators and the less profitable areas are left to the semi-state sector to operate. This is almost always done at a loss. A number of speakers referred to the fact that many of the private operators in the business make the jobs more casual, meaning they are part-time or poorly paid. In many cases, workers are paid the minimum wage or lower part-time rates. Many workers find themselves supplemented by social security services in the relevant countries.

Many rural areas run the risk of losing the daily service further down the road. Even though that service is protected in this legislation, the daily service will be reduced further down the road. The service may operate only on a weekly basis. I refer to the universal service obligation. How will this be financed and who will finance it? How will downstream access allow operators to use the An Post network and how will this be managed? How will legislation deal with cherry picking? Competitors will compete for profitable postal routes and will leave loss-making groups to An Post.

How can the market be protected from social dumping, where competitors drive down employment standards and force the national operator to do likewise? This has happened in a number of other countries where this directive has been transposed into legislation and implemented. Cherry picking will be a major problem. If operators pick off profitable routes and leave An Post with the loss-making parts of the service, it will remove a major source of revenue from An Post, undermine the service initially and lead to job losses and further unemployment. We have 440,000 people unemployed and this is something to which we should try to avoid adding.

This legislation is ill-advised and unwise. If the service is not broken, why fix it? This legislation will eventually devastate the postal service and eventually privatise it completely. It will undermine jobs in the service and will make the alternative jobs created in private enterprises more casual. These private operators will take over the more profitable parts of the service and their employees will be casual, part-time and poorly paid. I do not support this legislation.

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