Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I can confirm for the Deputy that legal proceedings have been commenced by the independent regulator, ComReg, against An Post on the basis that the company has failed to achieve the next-day delivery targets fixed by ComReg. The application by ComReg seeks to have imposed a financial penalty of €11.9 million on An Post for breach of the quality of service standard as measured by ComReg in 2010 and 2011. As the Deputy will be aware, ComReg is the independent regulator in this regard. I can accept that next-day delivery is a valid measure of postal standards. However, most Members of the House would share the view advanced by the Deputy that this issue is not a chief concern for postal users, at least not as conveyed to Members. In the context of the financial and commercial challenges confronting An Post, failure to achieve a nationwide 94% target for next-day delivery is scarcely the primary issue. Against this background, I am obliged to note I share the experience of the Deputy and other Members across all parties when I state complaints about next-day delivery do not feature among the matters brought to Members' attention concerning the postal services. No Member, including those in government, wishes to see one State organisation engaged in litigation against another, especially in the midst of the critical financial crisis in which the country finds itself. However, the fact remains that ComReg is statutorily independent in the discharge of this and all of its other functions.

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