Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that Deputy Barry and his colleagues have tabled this motion.

In the short time available to me, I merely want to state - I am sure the Minister will be aware of this - that many of the 240 workers directly affected and their families are devastated. The impact of this will vary from individual to individual and family to family, but many of them are now facing into a very uncertain future. They do not know where to turn.

On the substance of this, if one stands back and looks at it, looks at the map of Ireland, the proximity of Athlone, Portlaoise and Dublin and the fact that An Post has chosen to close Cork serving the entire southern region, it really does not make any sense from that perspective, yet that is what they have chosen to do despite all of the ambitious plans that the Government has laid out for Cork over Project Ireland 2040, as has been stated by my party leader and others in this debate so far. There is a complete mismatch there. When I look at that map and at the proximity of the other three centres, the fact that Cork was chosen appears to make no sense whatsoever. From a sustainability point of view and from the perspective of developing An Post's business model into the future, the company will need a substantial parcels centre to serve the southern region in the decades to come. This is a short-sighted decision.

I would ask the Minister, if he is speaking again during this debate, to confirm that the building will not be sold. There are many rumours that the building has already been sold and competitors of An Post in the parcel distribution business are eyeing up its purchase.

It would be a deeply retrograde step by the company if it were to let this happen. Many of the assertions that have been made by An Post are disputed by people working at the front line. An Post says that the Cork mail centre is operating at below 25% capacity. In comments made by spokespersons on behalf of the company, the impression has been given - many employees take umbrage at this - that it is underperforming. That really is not fair or accurate. Consistently, it has been one of the two best performers among An Post mail centres over that period. As some of the staff have said to me, they have the posters on the wall stating this and they have a trophy in the cabinet confirming that they have been the most efficient and best performing mail centre. As Deputy Micheál Martin has said, it is the most modern and best equipped of the mail centres. This decision needs to be reviewed.

The Minister's Cabinet colleague, the Minster for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, welcomed the decision, of course, and said he had been working closely with An Post over the last 12 months. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, has said there was no political involvement whatsoever in this decision. Is the Minister for Justice and Equality claiming credit for something in which he had no involvement? It cannot be both ways; something does not add up. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, needs to become involved and make his views known on this. It is not adequate for him just to wash his hands. There is a report from Accenture to which Deputy Micheál Martin has referred which should be published and put into the public domain. Much of what has been said by the company so far is not accurate and does not stand up to independent scrutiny. These workers feel they have been thrown under the bus. In my view, Cork has been shafted in respect of this issue. It is not fair or right and the Minister should become involved to bring about a reversal of the decision.

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