Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Back in September 2017 this was made clear at the Labour Court and it was part of the negotiations at that stage. This is not something that has been sprung.

I am assured that An Post will not take this decision on political grounds. This will be a decision taken in the best interests of An Post. It is trying to rebuild for the future against a backdrop where the volume of standard mail has dropped by 40%, and even this year it dropped by 8%. It has a real problem with the mail service. It is supplementing that by developing its parcel package service, which has grown by 20%, so it has been successful. It has negotiated a reorganisation of that service with its trade unions so it could grow in the way it is growing.

At the end of the day, An Post and its unions have to work together to build a restructuring plan that carves out the sort of future we all want for the company. That is what is happening. All I can assure the Deputy of is that this decision will not be taken by me or other politicians. It will be taken in the interests of the company and its workers by An Post, and it will go to the board in due course. The date for a decision is 2019, not 2018. That is all the assurance I can give the Deputy. I can understand his concern and that of his constituents but we have to allow the company and its workers to deal with this in the traditional way.

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