Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

On amendment No. 28, I welcome the addition of the phrase "the capital investment in the postal network made by the universal postal service provider concerned". This shows that the Minister at least took this much from the debate on Committee Stage. However, I share Deputy Ferris's concern that the Bill will lead us down the short road to cherrypicking and diminished services in the long term. This small state cannot maintain a variety of postal services on a uniform basis and the inevitable outcome of the Bill will be the destruction of the service we know. It is under enough pressure owing to falling means without the additional burden the Bill represents. For whatever reason, the European Union believes the competition agenda offers the solution to all problems, even though unbridled cross-border competition in the banking system became the source of the current chaos by allowing money to flow in an unregulated manner.

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