John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I commend Deputy Healy and the Independent group on bringing forward the motion. I thank the Minister for sharing his time with me. As somebody who has used the services of An Post at my local post office since childhood, I am acutely aware of the need to preserve the services and enhance them. Given the enormous change that has taken place in people's lifestyles and in technology, every business and organisation is undergoing a massive shift in the way services are delivered. I firmly believe we must give An Post and the post offices of this country the tools and wherewithal to be able to adapt to that change.

There is a great opportunity to maximise the productivity and output of each and every post office to deliver services in every parish and community in this State. Recent examples of how our post offices can deliver a service with maximum efficiency are An Post's passport service and its facilitating the payment of the property tax. Other such possibilities will arise with the payment of water charges, motor tax renewals and so on. It is important that post offices can deliver these services cheaply, efficiently and at more convenience to the consumer than any other organisation. They need to be given the chance to tender on an even playing field. I note that post offices were excluded from the start in respect of the driving licence service because of the criteria that were used about only having a very limited number of outlets in each county.

Much recent discussion has centred on the Department of Social Protection plans for the electronic transfer of social welfare payments through the banks. Surely it should be possible for these payments to be made electronically to the post office as well. I understand that electronic payments can be made for An Post employees into their post office savings bank. In other words, the software is already in place to deliver that service. This would also make sense as an increasing number of banks either close branches or withdraw services from small rural towns and villages. AIB has in recent years closed many of its branches in small towns and Bank of Ireland in the same locations restricts counter services to just two days a week. The opportunity to fill that void should be given to our post offices. The payment of more social welfare payments should also help to reduce the risk of fraudulent payments, which rightly needs to be addressed, in order that those who deserve support can get it.

Having attended last week the launch of the latest Grant Thornton report by the Irish Postmasters' Union and being involved last year as chairman of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications in producing our own report, I note there are many similar recommendations in both of them and welcome the fact that the Minister has acknowledged their input in providing solutions. Many of those recommendations, if implemented, would ensure the sustainability of the network. I welcome the Minister's announcement of the review which can move forward many of those recommendations.

It is important to point out that it is not only the Government that can ensure the continued viability and sustainability of the post office network. It, along with all State bodies, should be given opportunities and should make services available through the local post office, but that challenges the community at large to avail of and use these services. I have stood in halls where 400 and 500 were gathered who protested at the threat to close the local post office. I want to be fair and balanced on this. I would imagine that many of those who protest are either not aware of the services their local post office provides or use the services in other areas. There is a challenge to the community to use these services. In the review that was carried out last year, An Post agreed to more consultation when there was a threat to a post office. Communities must be given the chance either to use their post office and pay their bills or risk the fact they might lose it. My experience is that the public often are not aware of the services on offer. They need to be educated about what services are available. There are also a number of perceptions regarding the threat to the post office network, one being that the threat exists only in isolated rural areas. It exists in small post offices in rural and urban areas and that needs to be addressed as well. It is not a rural versus urban issue.

I am also convinced there is a need to get an increased number of younger people using the services in the post office. This was encouraged many years ago by the purchase of savings stamps or whatever. That initiative must be adapted for the modern needs and requirements of young people. It must also be noted that An Post has a responsibility for the future survival of the country's post office network. I note it has recently piloted a partnership with Tesco to provide some services in its outlets. Surely An Post cannot, on the one hand, assert that it wants to maintain the viability of the post office and, on the other hand, dilute those services to other outlets which further challenges that viability.

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