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

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:notes:

— the decision by An Post to close the Cork mail centre by March 2020 with the loss of 240 jobs;

— the devastating effect this decision will have on the workers concerned and their families; and

— the negative effect this will have on the local economy in the short-, medium-, and long-term;

further notes:

— the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 and National Development Plan targets to make Cork the fastest growing city in Ireland for the next two decades with a 2040 population of 320,000-360,000; and

— the dissonance between such targets and a decision to shut down a mail centre in the heart of this area;

recognises:

— the opportunities presented to An Post by the rapid growth in demand for parcel delivery services; and

— that this increase in demand has already resulted in a 60 per cent growth in demand for An Post parcel delivery services in the last two years; and

calls on the Government to:

— instruct An Post to reverse this decision; and

— instruct An Post to enter negotiations with the workers’ trade union representatives to draw up a plan by 1st January, 2020, to expand An Post’s parcel delivery services without resorting to job losses.

I am sharing time with Deputies Paul Murphy and Boyd Barrett.

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