Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

More than 200 households in Cork are hurting hard this morning. There is anger, upset and devastation. Last night's news of the closure of the Cork mail centre came as a bombshell for An Post workers. They have been told that this has to happen because the demand for letter delivery services has decreased by 7% year-on-year. However, demand for parcel delivery services has increased by 60% in the last two years. There is a real opportunity here for An Post has to diversify, to grow its business and to save jobs. It is madness for to sell a major valuable premises and to axe more than 200 jobs when this opportunity is facing An Post. I ask the Minister to join me in calling on An Post to put this plan to one side - on the shelf - and to allow real negotiations between representatives of the workers and the company to see what can be done to diversify, to grow the business and to save the jobs and pay packets on which many households depend.

See this speech in context