Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is not so long since we last discussed the same issues with the Minister. As other Deputies have said, there is a problem with the time allowed for tabling amendments. Larger parties have a greater ability to respond and table amendments quite quickly, but it is difficult for individual Deputies to do so because they do not have the staff to assist them that swiftly.

When discussing the Bill last week, the Minister said that An Post won the last tendering process because it was able to provide services through its network of outlets. She also noted An Post's 95% population coverage over 15 km in rural areas and 3 km in urban areas. An Post is thus able to provide the services and matched the criteria for the tendering process. In addition, the Minister said she hoped that would be enough to facilitate the post office network in rural areas.

However, the programme for Government specifically stated that it would support the post office network. By removing from the main legislation the provision that An Post should be included in the provision of social welfare payments, it sends a bad message to the post office network and the public that the Government does not have this matter on its agenda.

Deputy Naughten said the statutory instrument can be changed at any time by future Ministers, so the provision needs to stay in the Bill. If the tendering process is correct, above board and facilitates the post office network in providing these services according to the tendering process, nobody will challenge it. Once we acknowledge that the post office can provide those services, the system cannot be challenged. Following last week's debate, I read an article about SuperValu priming itself to become a potential provider of services traditionally offered by An Post. SuperValu has many shops around the country in cities, towns and villages.

I wish to raise a question on the social aspect involved. If one is tendering to provide social protection payments, such as job seeker's allowance or carer's benefit, do the regulations governing the process state that service providers must be able to deal with customers individually and that workers in such places will have a certain wage? We are talking about servicing 3,000 staff who currently work in the post office network. What other measures are in the Bill to give An Post the ability to compete against super stores around the country?

When the postmasters met us previously they spoke about how bad the situation has become in Britain, where many rural post offices have closed because they cannot compete against Tesco. All Tesco is interested in is getting footfall across the door and bringing more people to its shops in order to promote its own products. The service it provides is questionable and we should be aware of the potential for this outcome in Ireland. I suggest the Minister should include the words "and-or" in regard to An Post being the preferred provider for these services.

There is a social weight to the services that the post office network provides to communities. We outlined the reasons last week and the Minister acknowledged that we are a concerned bunch of Deputies on this side of the House when it comes to the quality of services provided by An Post. We have to realise that the post office is a point of contact for many elderly people who receive services through An Post. Some 18% of Irish people do not have bank accounts and 23%, or almost one quarter of the population, do not have access to the Internet. Many people rely on the post office to pay their bills, paying €5 here and €10 there, because of austerity and the fact that they must count the pennies. We must emphasise the social aspect of the post office network as well as the economic viability of allowing, without undue favouritism, post offices to provide services to a wide range of people. The people who receive social welfare are not economic units or mere clients; they are service users who deserve respect from this State in terms of how they receive their social payments. We should do everything possible to ensure the EU cannot challenge us and, if it does challenge us, we should explain the social fabric of our nation and what the post office network provides.

I supported the amendments tabled by Deputy Ó Snodaigh last week and I similarly support the amendments he is moving today. I urge the Minister to consider including the phrase "service providers and-or An Post" to allow the State to maintain its support for the post office network. Communities, postmasters and An Post will thereby see that the Government is serious about backing the network. The programme for Government specifically commits to protecting the post office network. How can that commitment be achieved if services are opened to SuperValu and other networks in the towns and villages? They cannot provide the same type of service or knowledge of communities that An Post has built up over the last 100 years.

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