Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

l welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I will lay out a few background points before dealing with the specifics raised by the Deputy. The Minister has responsibility for the postal sector, including the governance of An Post to ensure that the company is fully compliant with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies and the governance functions included in the statutory framework underpinning An Post.

An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially. As such, day-to-day operational matters including decisions related to the operation of the network, which consists of post offices and parcels offices, are matters for the board and management of the company and not ones in which the Minister has a statutory function. He is more than aware of the impact of any issues relating to An Post operations have on communities and individuals in both rural and urban areas, including towns such as Midleton. Over the past number of years, An Post has been transforming its business by delivering new products and new formats in the way it operates. It is understood from An Post that it has reached agreement with its trade union partners on a programme of further transformation for the company. The transformation agreement with the An Post group of unions was reached with the assistance of the company's Labour Court appointed monitoring group following a lengthy engagement on the issue over 12 months.

The company and the unions recognise that in order to achieve continued transformation they need to accelerate their plans. This is critical for the sustainability and long-term future of the business and the customers they serve every day. Improved and modernised business practices include handling more parcels as home shopping and e-commerce become the norm, building a sustainable future and considering the company's impact on the environment and improving working facilities for its staff that will involve some changes in the network over time. The company has implemented new targeted operating models, including across its mails and parcels network. An Post has advised that the process of looking at the first group of delivery offices and their delivery routes begins next month. In some cases, the transformation agreement will involve the consolidation or merger of existing mail offices. Among the possible changes being considered is the relocation of staff from Midleton delivery office to the Cork delivery campus at Little Island, to which the Deputy alluded. However, it is understood from the company that there is as yet nothing definitive on this matter.

Government objectives for An Post include harnessing the opportunities presented by e-commerce and the digital economy, capturing and retaining market share in parcels and delivering a sustainable nationwide post office network offering a range of e-commerce, financial and government services. The programme for Government recognises that a modernised post office network will provide a better range of financial and e-commerce services for citizens and enterprise, as part of our commitment to a sustainable nationwide post office network. Of course, any decisions relating to parcel offices are operational matters for An Post, and not a matter in which the Minister has a statutory function.

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