Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree with the Deputy. The fundamental strength of An Post is that it is trusted throughout the country, especially through the network. Local postmasters have for generations served their local communities. That trust is enormously beneficial. It is also an organisation which is able and efficient at handling millions of transactions every week. Those include financial transactions and other important business.

The Deputy's suggestion is a good one. Where a community does not have a branch of a local bank, it makes absolute sense that we use the post office to its maximum to provide cash and other financial services. The company has been through difficult times and we have had to support the network with an investment of €10 million over a three-year period. I understand there has been a recent improvement in the performance of the financial services division, which is probably helped by higher interest rates. For all banks, very low interest rates have presented difficulties. I also understand that the terms An Post has with AIB and the Bank of Ireland have improved to recognise the important function the post offices provide.

The Deputy's suggestion is a good one but it is a matter for the company. We do not enter into immediate commercial, contract or other negotiations, but through engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, and my engagement with the company, I will happily see the suggestion passed on. However, we must look further. The wider An Post organisation is seeing a continuing 6% reduction in mail volume per annum. That has been a long-term and ongoing trend. Counter to that, there has been a low double-digit increase in parcel revenue and business. As well as looking at financial services, we do, will and should look at other diversification opportunities for An Post and the post office network. It is in a challenging situation and there are no two ways about that. The core business is contracting and some of the social welfare and other provisions are changing as many parts of society move away from a cash-led business. It is a challenging situation for the company but we are determined to support the company and the post office network because they provide an important social and economic role.

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