Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I have repeated ad nauseam that the Government has no intention of privatising An Post. Deputy Healy-Rae is correct about the experience of Telecom Éireann, now Eircom, and the asset stripping which resulted in a legacy of under-investment in the network. However, he is wrong to make a comparison with the provision before us. The regulator or competition was not at fault in the case of Telecom Éireann. It was the privatisation of the company that caused the problems. We are not privatising An Post. It will remain in State hands. While Deputy Martin Ferris asked what a Government of a different hue might do, I do not think that position would change. Fianna Fáil has swung dramatically to the left and is now opposed to privatisation, even though it privatised Telecom Éireann. The Technical Group which is represented in the Chamber by Deputy Joan Collins might combine into a left-wing group with Fianna Fáil.

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