Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious of the important role of the post office around the country, not only in respect of social welfare payments but also the extent to which it is now becoming a one stop-shop where people can pay bills, purchase mobile telephone top-ups, use the passport application facility, pay local property tax or Garda fines and carry out a range of banking and other financial services. This is the way to go for anybody who, like me, is very interested in seeing post offices do well. In 2013 the cost to the Department of Social Protection of issuing payments through the post office system was approximately €86 million. The Department must continue to ensure that the most cost-effective ways of delivering its services are employed to ensure best value for the taxpayer. In this regard, an issue for the post office network is that electronic payments are less expensive and many people who have bank accounts or are anxious to use electronic payment mechanisms choose to do so. I was very happy to sign a new contract with An Post last year for over-the-counter cash services for welfare clients following a public procurement competition. This contract is very valuable business for An Post. For example, approximately 3.5 million payments were cashed by welfare clients in local post offices up to last August.

One must bear in mind that with the development of bank accounts many customers who use Post Office services do not have other bank accounts. At present 72% of all child benefit clients and 84% of new clients to the scheme choose to receive payment directly into their accounts. This undeniably creates a challenge for the current business model of An Post.

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