Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----but not everything the European Union demands of us must be implemented in the way it often is implemented by the Government. There are concerns about society, changes therein and the need to protect institutions that serve society best.

I am aware there has been an ongoing exchange in the EU about postal workers. This is more a concern for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The postal workers' unions across Europe have lobbied for protection of the services. In this instance it is not the personnel who deliver the post, the postman or post woman whose jobs are at risk, but rather the institution of the post office is at risk. There is a danger to the institution if the postal service is opened to competition and if the privileged position of An Post as stated in legislation is removed. This Bill proposes to remove the statutory protection of An Post which means the service will be open to competition. I will not go over all the arguments but in my view - which I have argued with this Minister and the previous Minister - the post office has a specific role in the distribution of social welfare payments and in implementing anti-fraud measures. The post office offers a personal service which should not be ignored in this era of open competition.

It could result that a bank or other financial institution with no loyalty to Ireland or to anyone bar the money it earns would be contracted to supply these services and there could be a danger that society would not benefit. If the contract for delivery of social welfare payments is moved away from An Post to a bank, I am very concerned about the effects in many small towns and villages and some urban areas across the country. I have concerns about the move to pay social welfare payments directly to bank accounts which has been encouraged by the Department of Social Protection because the more people move away from the personal interaction in post offices, the greater the danger of fraud. It also poses a danger for society because the majority of people who depend on social welfare payments use the post office every week. If all social welfare payments, such as dole payments, child benefit and old age pensions, are to be paid electronically, many people will become more isolated from society as they will do all their business online and they may not have any reason to come out their front door. Everything can be ordered on the Internet and people need to be aware of the dangers as well as the benefits when making these decisions.

I expect to return to this issue at a later date given that the changes in legislation are designed to facilitate a move away from An Post. If such a move is made, I presume tenders for the contract would be required and it would, hopefully, be discussed in this House in advance of any change. We will need to discuss the change and also the parameters for the contract other than the provision of commercial financial transactions. The social aspect of that contract will need to be borne in mind.

I wish to address the legislation which deals with aspects of a 2010 EU directive which I believe need to be passed before the summer recess although I may be mistaken. There does not seem to be any urgency in passing this legislation or indeed the majority of it.

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