Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I agree that anything that enhances the viability of the post office network is worthy of consideration. However, winning Government contracts perhaps ought not be the first focus of An Post from here on out because increasingly more Government business is going online and that will have its own implications. There is no reason An Post ought not be able to win new commercial contracts. With initiatives such as its Postfone arrangement with Vodafone and so on, it has started to do that and that is likely to be more productive. Approximately 77% of revenue currently comes from Government contracts. Whereas I am all in favour of An Post capturing new business in the State or elsewhere, it is in the commercial area that its future lies.

I have had discussions with An Post management about the future of An Post and the extraordinary challenges facing it because of electronic substitution and so on. It has made enormous progress recently and is involved in a major restructuring programme. It is well aware of further commercial possibilities.

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