Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to support my colleagues on the other side of the border. While it should not make any difference, I should put on the record that I am a postmaster of a rural post office. Having looked at the figures in terms of the savings that will be made, I believe this was a political decision to take out Cork. The Government took the view that the local economy in Cork would better absorb the hit than the other two areas in which there are mailing centres. I do not agree with it. I think it is ill-thought out. A lot of the methodology in which An Post has engaged in the last ten years, in my humble opinion, leaves a lot to be desired. I know that many of the An Post workers listening to this debate would want the issue of collection and delivery, C&D, allowances raised. These are allowances that are not being paid to people who entered the An Post service after 2007. For the benefit of those who do not understand what this means, in blunt terms it means they are not getting €50 or €60 per week to which they are entitled. As things stand, one employee is in receipt of €50 or €60 per week more than another employee who is doing the same work. The latter are being denied €50 or €60 per week, which is a lot in anybody's language. It is a lot of money for those paying mortgages and struggling.

To the workers directly affected by this closure, all I can do is support the Deputies who represent them, for example, Deputy Micheál Martin, and others. My job is to support the motion and to thank those who brought it forward. It provides us with the opportunity to show An Post that we are not going to sit idly by and keep our mouths shut while mail centres are closed. It is our job to support this motion. In regard to redeployment, I find it hard to see how those affected will get jobs of equal financial recompense in a short timeframe.

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