James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Gannon for raising the important issue of the proposed closure of the Phibsborough post office in Dublin 7. I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers.

An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially and, as such, day-to-day operational matters, including the decisions related to the size, distribution and future of the network are matters for the board and management of the company and are not ones in which the Minister of State has a statutory function.

The Minister of State is aware of the impact that decisions relating to changes in An Post operations have on communities and individuals in both rural and urban areas. I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, met with An Post officials on 14 February and discussed the proposed conversion of six post offices run by An Post to being contractor run. Several of the post offices in question are located in key business community locations and An Post gave an undertaking to review its decision to the proposed conversion and will revert to the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers.

In line with its ongoing transformation, An Post recently announced that it is converting six post offices from being An Post run to being contractor run, one of which is the Phibsborough office. That post office will join the mainstream of national post offices, of which more than 90% of the country’s 900 post offices are run by contractors. Fewer than 40 post offices throughout the State are now run directly by An Post.

An Post indicated that the change in business model of the six offices will not in any way change the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those selected locations.

The company remains committed to providing each area with the highest level of services for the future. An Post staff formerly employed at the post offices in question will have options, including taking up employment as a new postmaster or being redeployed within the network. The Government's objectives for the An Post network include harnessing the opportunities presented by e-commerce and the digital economy and delivering a sustainable nationwide post office network offering a range of e-commerce, financial and government services. The Government agreed that an amount of €10 million per annum will be provided by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications over a three-year fixed term from 2023 to 2025 to support postmasters with funding to be dispersed across the post office network. The funding is being paid monthly for each 12-month period. More than €9.7 million has been claimed by An Post for 2023 for the postmaster network.

Over recent years, An Post has transformed its business by delivering new products and new formats in the way it operates. This includes, among other things, diversifying and growing the financial services 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. An Post is also providing agency banking services for AIB and Bank of Ireland.

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. The overall €30 million in funding being provided to support a sustainable nationwide post office network is in line with this commitment.

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