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

The mandate of An Post must be to develop services for its customer base. It has been very successful in developing the parcel network. It is dealing with big companies like Amazon and other online players. It has successfully developed its own parcel business. It is developing into the financial services sector. We must rely on its capacity to build its customer base and ensure it delivers a high quality, future-proofed service to the people of Laois.

The Deputy wants me to issue a ministerial direction against the views of the board which is responsible for delivering that quality service. If that direction was unsuccessful, the Deputy would rightly ask why the Minister intervened in the work of An Post, resulting in its successful strategy for the future development being undermined. The Deputy would rightly come in here and say that.

The board, the chief executive and the staff have a responsibility and they are taking it seriously. They are restructuring the company, developing modern, future-proofed services for communities in Laois and every other county and are doing so effectively. We must allow them to do the work for which they are responsible.

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