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

There is no doubt that this is a difficult day for the workers directly affected by this decision. I assure the Deputy that not only will good terms and conditions be offered to the workers but every support will also be made available by the company and, indeed, by the State to support them at this difficult time. The company has outlined some of the supports that will be provided. These include efforts to redeploy staff as well as offers of support for training and education. The centre will be phased out and continuing support will be offered.

Deputy Sherlock raised the question of why a company undergoing difficult structural change should make a decision like this. I am conscious that some years ago An Post's survival was on the line. That was the reality given the long-term decline of its mails operation. The company needed to dramatically diversify its business. It entered into negotiations with its workforce to try to devise a strategy to make a successful transition. A modest pay agreement was part of that strategy but there was also a structural plan which involved the closure of one of its mail centres. The difficulty is that there is a long-term structural decline in mails volume, as the Deputy recognises. An Post had too much capacity in that area but not enough capacity in the areas where it sought to grow, including in new services, such as financial services through the post office network and online services as well as parcel delivery services. An Post has successfully done that following the changes which were negotiated.

The company's announcement makes it clear that while it was forced to make this decision, which was part of the original negotiated deal, it is also making a significant investment in the Cork region. It is doing that to put the company in a position to build out the opportunity in parcels delivery. An Post is making a conscious decision to expand its capacity in that area and it has listed some of the investments it will be making. These include parcels lockers, a major parcels delivery centre, and a new electric, zero emissions, delivery fleet. The company is, therefore, upgrading and changing its business model to meet the new opportunity. There is no doubt that this is a painful decision. It is being taken, however, in the best interests of making sure that the company can continue to deliver a quality service to its customers, ensure it is attuned to changing needs and can secure the future for its workers by making the plans and changes necessary to support An Post's prosperity into the future.

Deputy Sherlock is, of course, right that, under legislation, we do entrust day-to-day decision-making on these matters not to Ministers but to the company. The Deputy will have been here last week when the case was being made for another of the centres that it was felt was under threat. It would be very invidious if these decisions were taken on a political basis. They had to be taken by the company, based on its assessment of the best interests of the company, its customers and its workers. This is a disappointing day for those people who have been adversely affected but the closure has nothing to do with the very high quality of workmanship that was being delivered in Cork. This decision is being taken in the long-term interests of the company's capacity to sustain employment and service its customer base.

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