Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This is a very important issue for people throughout Ireland and I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute to this pivotal debate for the third time on the floor of this House in the past seven months. I am pleased that the Minister has for the first time committed to a whole-of-government approach to devise a comprehensive plan, involving all the relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Postmasters' Union. It will explore real and meaningful ways to ensure the sustainability and survival of the post office network which has in excess of 1,000 offices and sub-offices, through using the post office network as the front office of government. That is a very important step forward and should be acknowledged.

The survival of the network is predicated on the revenue generated from main Government contracts, mainly the social welfare payment contract and the NTMA savings portfolio. Prior to Christmas the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, in the company of Mr. Mueller, the chairperson of An Post, announced at the GPO the renewal of the contract relating to the delivery of social welfare payments to customers, which is worth up to €50 million to An Post and is one of the pivotal elements in helping to secure the position of sub-post offices throughout the State. The contract is for an initial period which can be renewed. The contract importantly stipulates a control element in the payment by way of having to furnish individual identification documents, which is an important aspect of security control in terms of reducing fraud. I believe this unique element can only be provided by the post offices and their personnel. I would be confident that An Post should secure that social welfare contract well into the future.

The programme for Government contains a specific commitment in respect of ensuring the sustainability of the post office network, which is a national and strategic asset. This is why the announcement the Minister has made tonight to put flesh on the bones of the commitment is so important. We need a whole-of-government approach with each appropriate Department and agency, and other elements of the public service obliged to make an input or submission as to how a particular service it is pursuing might be done through the post office network. Where they identify new businesses they should examine the possibility of these services being provided through the post office network.

As a Deputy representing a mainly rural constituency, I have witnessed the withdrawal over many years of financial services from these areas. Bank branches and sub-branches have been closed down leaving people with no facilities. Many of these people are elderly with little or no public transport available to bring them to the nearest big town where they might not even be well known.

In this context, therefore, I urge the exploration of the possibility of post offices becoming satellite offices for the credit union movement. Obviously this would have to be explored and agreed with the credit union movement at headquarters. It would give access to many people who live in isolated areas and who have no ready means of transport, public or otherwise. It would also give great comfort to such people who might be saving a few bob to lodge same and have ease of access to same in the event of an emergency. It would at least allow a quasi-form of banking to be made available in rural areas, and the post office is an ideal vehicle for delivering that.

Likewise, the State owns 98% of AIB. Surely a link-up with this financial institution could be explored and if found positive could be embraced. Post offices have anchors throughout the country, with there being 1,130 postmasters and sub-post offices, and these can facilitate the exploitation and use of all these facilities. The plan or review process should be open-ended, not subject to limitations, and should examine how additional services can be profitably provided. One must at all times acknowledge the social utility value of having services close to the user, which the post office network allows and achieves in a very noble fashion.

Therefore, the Government must, as part of its plan or consideration, examine the possibility of providing a banking service through the post office network and operated by An Post. The board of directors of An Post need to wake up and smell the coffee and be creative and forward-thinking and not be running to the Tesco branches or anywhere else. Instead they need to examine, as the Minister said, the possibility of the post office network bringing in and putting in place electronic transfer fund mechanisms. The possibility of An Post expanding its operations and providing current account facilities, either on its own or on behalf of associated banks, could open up huge opportunities. There are a myriad of significant opportunities which should be explored in the context of this plan or review, especially the provision of services on behalf of Departments, semi-State bodies and local authorities. I wrote to one such body today, namely, Irish Water seeking that it would ensure the post office network is utilised for the next number of months for the purpose of collecting the new water rates charge. More than one million bills will be processed and this could be an invaluable source of revenue for An Post. This is a new area where the post office network could be utilised and it is ideally situated for the mutual benefit of Irish Water and the postmasters and postmistresses. Some 800,000 customers interface with the Department of Social Protection and here we have 21% more customers available, especially many elderly who would deal with the post office every week. This is an ideal place to start. We have the Government commitment and assurance that it will not close post offices, but it is important we show the way forward of how that can be achieved in a real and sustainable way.

I agree with the Grant Thornton analysis that the most viable option to secure the post office network is for the Government's contracts to continue to be won by An Post, and while these are subject to EU law and competition law, I believe this is eminently achievable. I call on the Department of Social Protection to desist from issuing letters to social welfare recipients informing them of the availability of electronic transfer of funds or e-payments, which specifically refers to the banks. Why not state clearly and unequivocally in these letters that the facility to receive cash from the post offices is and remains a viable option? The post office network should be upgraded to accommodate the electronic transfer of funds directly. People should be afforded the clear opportunity of opting out of electronic funds transfer and to continue to receive their welfare payments over the counter as normal. This must be part of any review, consultation or plan, and how the basic payment account plan can be implemented should also be part of that.

We must never disregard the social utility value of post offices. Not everything can be evaluated and assessed in terms of balance sheet or bottom line style economics. The human interaction, advice and help plays an essential and crucial role, which is inestimable in terms of value. A balance sheet approach discounts social policy, and that is a failing. It is a significant area that can be exploited and I urge Minister to ensure this review would take all those points into account in a very meaningful and sustainable way.

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