Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. An Post is a commercial State body with a mandate to act commercially and a statutory responsibility for the State’s postal service and the post office network. In addition, Irish post offices are typically independent businesses that are run by postmasters.

I have met the new chairperson of An Post and the chief executive and they fully understand the Government position. They assured me that a sustainable, viable and customer-focused post office network is a key strategic priority for the company. The company has assured me there are no plans for a consolidation outside of the terms of the transformation programme that was agreed with the Irish Postmasters Union in 2018 and that there will be no compulsory closures of post offices.

The transformation programme was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. I worked with An Post and introduced the pandemic recovery fund in 2021, which was worth €8.5 million over an 18-month period. This commenced on 1 July 2021 and will continue until the end of this year. I fully recognise the importance of the high value and high quality post office network to our citizens right across the country, as well as the central and trusted role of postmasters in our communities. An Post, including through the post office network provides important services to its customers and it is contracted to provide key Government services to citizens.

The work on an interdepartmental group, which was established to consider the feasibility of the new Government services, is being considered at present and I am committed to the sustainable network. While decisions relating to the network are matters for the board and the management of the company, they continue to engage with the IPU on operational matters. The Government is committed to ensuring that An Post continues to play a vital role.

I have requested officials in my Department to engage with the company, with other Departments and with key stakeholders to explore all options, in line with this commitment.

See this speech in context