Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Cathal Crowe and O'Connor for raising what is a critical issue for all of the people of our country, but particularly rural Ireland.

An Post's social value has been particularly evident during the recent and current Covid crisis. It has played a valuable role in its commitment to rural communities, the elderly and vulnerable in our society. I am acutely aware of the importance of maintaining a post office network and I note the serious decline in mail volumes and the impact of Covid-19 on footfall through post offices have had a severe impact on the postal network and the revenues being generated by postmasters. Since taking up my role as Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, I have met representatives of the Irish Postmasters Union, IPU, to discuss the matters raised in the Grant Thornton report, which was commissioned by the IPU.

The programme for Government recognises that a modernised post office network will provide a better range of financial services and e-commerce services for citizens and enterprises as part of our commitment to a sustainable national post office network. While it is long-standing Government policy that postal services will not be directly subsidised by the Government, we remain fully committed to a sustainable post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure in both rural and urban areas.

In response to the structural challenges facing the postal sector generally and An Post, the company put in place a strategic plan for the medium-term and long-term future of the company. Government efforts are focused on supporting An Post in the roll-out of new services and the delivery of its strategic plan. The ongoing transformation in the company aims to ensure the financial viability of An Post and the continued fulfilment of its mandate to deliver a mail delivery service and a viable post office network. To implement the plan, the cost of which was estimated to be in the region of €150 million, the Minister for Finance provided a loan of €30 million to the company in December 2017 to support the renewal of the post office network at a cost of €15 million and the continued fulfilment of a five-day per week mail delivery service which accounted for a further €15 million.

An Post is continuing to undergo vital transformation as part of the delivery of its strategic plan, which has seen the company being split into two distinct business units, An Post mails and parcels and An Post retail. An Post is transforming its retail network by delivering new products and formats. These include, among other things, diversifying and growing the financial service products it provides for individuals and SMEs to include loans, credit cards and more foreign exchange products, local banking in association with the major banks and a full range of State savings products. Two new dedicated sub-brands, An Post money and a new business to business brand, An Post commerce, were launched. Investment by An Post of €50 million in the network is about getting communities to use the enhanced services in their local post offices.

A recently approved capital expenditure programme is designed to develop the newer elements of An Post's financial services business and mitigate declining core mail volumes and revenues on the retail side of the business. An Post also invested in training for all post offices in 2019 and 2020 to better equip postmasters to run their business. The strategic plan in place to transform the company has resulted in An Post recording an operating profit of over €41 million for 2019, the third consecutive year of significant financial improvement, bringing the group out of its loss-making position of 2016.

The Government believes An Post has untapped potential to do more and make a further significant contribution across many areas of business, public and community life. With an evolving mandate, An Post can emerge as a central hub for a wide variety of valuable community focused services. As with any business, An Post needs to develop commercial strategies to enable it to grow and maintain its relevance for all its users. All options will be considered fully and efforts will be redoubled to give effect to our commitment to ensure a sustainable and viable post office network.

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