Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

The spirit and principle of my amendment are to protect the postal service indefinitely. That is the reason I have tabled the amendment. We either have faith in politics or we do not. In his reply, the Minister said ComReg will protect the service in future, but I would dispute that. What we have seen from past regulation in other spheres has certainly not been in the national interest. It is so important that a service which is provided in the national interest continues to operate as such. We can be proud of the postal service that has been consistently provided across this island. I have major worries going forward, despite the fact that, as was stated yesterday, ComReg can continue for a further 12 to 20 years. I do not believe that to be the case.

I am not pointing the finger at the Minister in any way, but this Bill is all about the liberalisation of the postal service and its privatisation in the long term. That will be a huge disadvantage to people who are most in need of the service, including those living in isolated areas who are dependent on that social contact. Effectively, privatisation or liberalisation is all about profit before anything else. Therefore any protections we can insert in the legislation to assure postal workers, as well as the recipients of the service, need to be taken on board. I would like the Minister to reconsider the amendment.

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