Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Naughten does not wish me to read it, I will not do so.

I am not sure I would agree with Deputy Naughten that An Post sees it as a cost rather than an asset. The collapse of mail volumes by 25% in the past five years owing to e-substitution and so on rather than the collapse of An Post's core business is what is driving the pressure on the postal network. The fear on the part of the postmasters is not so much that An Post might lose the social welfare contract, which I take with a grain of salt, but electronic funds transfers because the margin per item transacted would be of considerably less value to it than the traditional over-the-counter cash transaction. That is what concerns them.

I agree with Deputy Naughten that the postal network is an asset. As I said earlier, I am not aware of any business that has 1,149 retail outlets throughout the country. The Cabinet sub-committee is currently looking at whether there are other ways the network can be utilised as a contact point by the public in the context of different Government services. That is the issue. Unfortunately, it must be addressed within procurement and competition law. It may be the case that if we were in France we would not be so scrupulous about observing EU rules in this regard. However, we are not and those rules apply.

Deputy Moynihan raised a question with me earlier in regard to EU infringement. I do not know whether it is always the case that the EU pursues big business in the same manner as it pursues small business but that is the law and the impediment in the way.

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