Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely thank the Regional Independent Group for submitting this Private Members' business today. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I want to put on the record of the House that I am a postmaster myself. It has been in my family for many decades and many generations. I know first-hand the challenges faced by the post office network. I thank the House for the opportunity to contribute to the debate today.

There is no doubt about the important role that An Post and the post office network play in our society, from the social and economic perspectives in urban and rural areas. This was never more evident than during the lockdowns over the past 18 months where the importance and resilience of the post office network was clearly demonstrated with An Post keeping its network of over 900 post offices open during every single day of the pandemic and did not close for one day, ensuring the continued distribution of cash to the economy and playing an important commercial and societal role in the communities in which they operate. An Post has also played a key role in enabling small businesses to trade online during periods of lockdown. My two local postmen often had to do multiple trips to the parent office to collect, given the volume of parcels that was being distributed in the last 18 months.

A range of initiatives through An Post and post offices have helped local communities, the elderly and the vulnerable. All of this has been made possible by the commitment of postmasters and the staff of An Post. I take this opportunity to commend those staff today. I saw newspapers, groceries and, in some cases, pensions being delivered. Staff were extremely flexible and it is a great opportunity to commend all who played such a role in that.

The Government is aware that the pandemic has had a significant impact on businesses and their employees, including essential services such as post offices. Postmasters have seen significantly reduced footfall over the past 18 months, resulting in lower transaction levels, which has a corresponding impact on postmasters' earnings.

The motion notes that from 1 July post offices face a major challenge as a significant reduction in payment rates will take effect relating to the end of the transformation payments provided to postmasters under an agreement which was reached in consultation with and with the support of the Irish Postmasters' Union, the union which represented postmasters in 2018. The agreement was not foisted on anyone; it was reached through consultation. In response to this it is welcome that An Post is proposing a pandemic support fund for postmasters to assist post offices in recovering from the pandemic and continuing the transformation strategy over an 18-month period. An Post will fund this to the tune of €8.5 million.

In order for businesses to survive, it is most important that they adapt to the realities of the day. They also need consumers and customers to support them. I am not saying this about anyone in this House, but it would be interesting to note how many people pay their bills through An Post or use its credit cards or bank accounts. That is how we will support our post offices, namely the communities they have supported through the years supporting them in turn.

An Post is transforming its retail network by delivering new products in new formats. These include diversifying and growing the financial services products it provides. Many spoke of the new arrangements with major banks, a full range of State products and launching the green hub, which includes providing end-to-end project management and money saving advice for all levels of home retrofitting. I have engaged with the CEO on how An Post could play a role in providing credit facilities to SMEs because there may be another opportunity there.

An Post and the post office network continues to offer choices to its customers. While people who use the post office may prefer to use cash for weekly budgeting and money management, An Post is increasingly appealing to and attracting a new cohort of customers who transact in a cashless manner and want An Post to offer online services.

A lot of work has been done over the past four years to develop the network and this has had a positive effect on postmasters and customers. The ongoing transformation of the company aims to ensure the commercial viability of An Post which will, in turn, facilitate its continued fulfilment of its mandate to ensure a mail delivery service and viable post office network.

I believe that An Post, working together with postmasters and the Government, can ensure the network can emerge as a central hub for a wide variety of valuable community focused services. We want a sustainable post office network that is available to urban and rural citizens in the medium and long term.

The Government continues to provide significant business to An Post through the Department of Social Protection and I will use this opportunity to call on the Department to dissuade from encouraging people to have their payments paid through electronic funds transfer. The Government provided a loan of €30 million to An Post in December 2017 to support the renewal of the post office network. An Post has received an investment loan of €40 million from the European Investment Bank to finance innovation and modernisation projects.

In March this year, the Government agreed to the establishment of a subgroup to explore the potential of a one stop shop approach, including the identification of suitable services. That draft report has been prepared and I want all options presented in it considered in a timely fashion to ensure that every effort is made to give effect to the Government's commitment to ensuring a sustainable and viable post office network for many years to come.

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