Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2

In page 9, line 21, after "2002;" to insert the following: "to amend the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 to enable funding to be made available for the purposes of maintaining the post office network and countering consequences of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union;".

The Government decided on 31 May 2022 that €10 million per annum would be provided to the post office network over a three-year fixed term – 2023 to 2025 – to support a sustainable nationwide post office network in line with the commitment in the programme for Government. That decision noted that the amendment of the Post and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 would be required to provide a legal basis for the provision of funding from the Minister to An Post. A further Government decision, on 29 November, approved the drafting of an amendment to the Post and Telecommunications Services Act 1983 for inclusion in the Communications Regulation Bill 2022. The proposed amendment, No. 61, through subsection (1), will allow this financial support to be provided via An Post to the existing network of approximately 900 post offices. This funding will provide the necessary time for new commercial initiatives and services to develop, bring sustainability and certainty for postmasters and address concerns around any potential reduction in accessibility to services. The EU's Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, aims to provide support to counter the adverse consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. An Post has successfully submitted an application for funding of approximately €24 million from the BAR in relation to the management of EU customs and VAT requirements applying to all An Post UK traffic following the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. This important change in international trade has had a significant negative impact on the postal sector in Ireland.

Brexit also coincided with long-planned extensive changes to EU customs regulations governing goods entering and leaving the EU. All traffic from the UK that was previously categorised as intra-EU became non-EU traffic and subject to customs-related obligations, which directly impacted on An Post operationally and commercially. The proposed amendment, in subsection (2), is required to provide a legal base for the funding granted under the EU regulation to be directed from the Minister to An Post as compensation for the impact of Brexit on the company. The proposed amendment, in subsection (3), ensures that the specific terms and conditions under which funding is to be provided to the post office network under subsection (1) and An Post under subsection (2) remain subject to the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Amendment No. 2 is a consequential amendment to the Long Title to the Bill to reflect the inclusion of amendment No. 61.

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