Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the 2% pay increase and on what it was conditional, but there is a new situation in that the parcel business has grown hugely and An Post is short of warehouse space because of it. The growth has given a new lease of life to the four mail centres in terms of the utilisation of space and the demand for facilities. We should not, therefore, be taking an axe to the centre when there is a viable business. I am informed that the parcel business increased by nearly 40% last year. The centre's closure would have huge economic consequences for the whole community and the midlands. County Laois has not exactly been top of the list when it comes to IDA Ireland investments, although there have been a couple of very recent welcome announcements. We have had the Kerr and McKinsey reports. There is a long way to go to reach the strategic position where the centre will be located in all transport hubs, including rail and road and everything else to which I have pointed. There are a couple of hundred workers who have mortgages and families and are trying to get their children through the education system. In many cases, the sole income earner in the family is the worker in the mail centre. It is time to remove the uncertainty.

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