Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister’s remarks and he being straight and up-front. Essentially, I know the board has been given responsibility. All I ask the Minister to do is to ensure the transcript of this debate, and the fact that I have raised this issue, is transmitted to An Post headquarters so that it is aware of what we are saying. Obviously, when the company is in the Labour Court and dealing with the trade unions what we have to say here is totally irrelevant but it is a slightly broader perspective than considering the issue only from a staffing point of view. We represent the customers and, to an extent, the people of Ireland and our views need to be taken into account. If the Minister were to forward the transcript of this debate to An Post and ask it to consider this issue in an objective manner, I would be satisfied it would come to the right decision, which would mean keeping the mail centre in Portlaoise open into the future.

The Minister said that An Post has been doing its best to reorganise its facilities. We all know there has been a considerable drop in the volume of letters being posted. That is a simple fact. Its parcel delivery service has increased substantially with the increase in online shopping. We all have experience of that. People can make a booking or purchase an item online at midnight on Sunday and lo and behold it can be hand delivered by van to one’s front door on Tuesday morning. An Post has a key role to play in that. That is why the cental location in Portlaoise is extremely good for achieving that. It is expanding its service for parcel deliveries from five to six days a week. It is important it improves its service and matches the services delivered in the strictly private sector. Because there is a strong parcel sorting and delivery function in Portlaoise and all inward parcels come into that mail centre, there is a strong customer presence there. It does not make sense to close that facility and have to reopen a similar facility somewhere else.

Everything goes to the big cities, whether it be Dublin or the other large cities. It is important where there is a good viable business in regional towns that we hold on to it. I ask that the mail centre in Portlaoise be approved by the board of An Post in that context.

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