Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I express my solidarity with the more than 200 workers who find themselves in a position where they are going to lose their jobs. There are some 240 jobs, 161 part time and 79 full time, on the line at the Cork mails centre. I anticipate that the Minister will tell us he has no operational involvement in decisions of this nature. It is important, however, that we have an opportunity to raise our concerns about this decision. Those concerns are based on the fact that it is difficult to see the justification for the closure of this mails centre. An Post is telling us that its operating profit last year was €41 million and that there was a 7% rise in revenue as well as a 40% rise in parcels volumes. The company's justification for the closure of the Cork plant is that the centre is operating 25% below capacity due to the decline in traditional mails volumes. It is difficult for me, and the workers, to reconcile that fact with the 40% rise in the parcels delivery volume last year. That surely represents an opportunity. If that business is growing, An Post should ensure that all of its sorting and mails centres are included within the mix.

The people of Cork are disgusted by An Post's decision to cull, in a very political way, the Cork mails centre because they see no justification for this decision. The excuse that there is a decline in traditional mails when the evidence shows an increase in revenue from the rise in parcels volumes does not stand up to scrutiny. The decision is made and I note that the narrative has now moved on to trying to get the best deal possible for the workers. Let us remember that there are 161 part-time workers and 79 full-time workers. I raise this issue because we have to understand, at a time when parcel volumes are increasing across various business sectors, why An Post is excising one of its key centres and sacrificing one of its mail centres. To my mind, that does not stand up to scrutiny. I am raising this with the Minister because it is important that there is a political response from the Government regarding this issue.

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