Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Labour)
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Last week a committee of the Oireachtas was subject to what I can best describe as a show of disdain and arrogance by the chairperson of the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, in his refusal to answer questions or provide any sense of being responsible to anyone but himself in the exercise of the functions of his public office. ComReg has since come into increasing conflict with An Post and I can best describe their relationship as dysfunctional. The financial health of An Post hangs in the balance. Workers, their unions and the management of An Post are working together to secure the financial health of the company. ComReg, however, is pursuing a policy that will result in damage to An Post's financial standing and threaten service provision across communities. It is pursuing what appears to be a pro-privatisation agenda towards An Post and has done so in a manner that has played fast and loose with the public interest.

ComReg pursued a legal action against An Post which it subsequently lost in the High Court. An Post opposed ComReg's original decision on the grounds that it amounted to an unacceptable form of micromanagement of its postal delivery service by the regulator. An Post must bear the cost of the High Court case, as well as the cost of a Supreme Court appeal. Worse still, it will also be picking up the legal bill for ComReg. This action by ComReg will be responsible for financially damaging a valued and necessary public utility and the only winners will be the lawyers, certainly not consumers.

ComReg recently fined An Post €12 million for its quality of service levels. This seems to be an outrageous amount of money and I question the metric used to arrive at this levy. There is little point in comparing the efficiencies achieved by An Post with those of other universal service operators in other countries, given our low population density and spread. Will the Minister establish the impact of this fine on An Post? Will he ask ComReg to forward to us the metric used in arriving at this fine?

An Post is forced to pay for two sets of private consultants to measure the quality of service in dispute. Why not only one? The additional cost imposed by ComReg by the requirement to have two consultants is racking up millions of euro for An Post and impacting on the service provided for consumers. While the independence of the regulator from ministerial or political interference is to be valued, there must be accountability to this House. The regulator should be compelled to answer questions on its role from Oireachtas committees and the Minister, not hide behind legislative shields. No officeholder in the State should be permitted to exercise the functions of his or her office, a trust given by the Oireachtas, without a degree of accountability.

ComReg’s actions threaten the interests of consumers and communities across Ireland. Is the Minister considering proposals to review the operation of the regulator, alter the focus of its office and ensure an impartial approach to how An Post’s functions are refereed?

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in the House which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, who is unavoidably absent.

ComReg is statutorily responsible for the regulation of the postal sector and independent in the exercise of its regulatory functions. Furthermore, the EU regulatory framework for the postal sector requires the regulatory function to be discharged separately from the shareholder function which the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources administers. The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act, passed in August 2011, put in place the regulatory framework for the newly liberalised postal service market. The Act enshrines the universal service obligation, a legal obligation on the State, guaranteeing the collection and delivery of mail to every address in the State on every working day.

Recognising the importance of universal service, the postal Act was strengthened by the Minister, reflecting commitments given in the programme for Government, to give him a direct role in ensuring the continued delivery of a universal service obligation by An Post. In terms of the hierarchy of objectives being discharged by ComReg which was recognised by the chairman of ComReg at the meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications last week, maintenance of universal service is the most important function assigned to it. In the programme for Government the Government is committed to a universal postal service as an essential public service, with a publicly owned, commercially viable, profitable and efficient An Post critical to the long-term viability of the postal market.

I watched with interest the proceedings of the Oireachtas committee and was heartened by the interest shown by all Deputies in An Post and the nationwide services it delivered. As many Deputies acknowledged, An Post is facing many challenges, not just financially but also from the development of communications technologies. As shareholder, the Minister has a strong concern regarding the ongoing commercial position of the company. The reality is its core mail business has suffered a major fall in recent years which has impacted seriously on the company's revenue flow. The scale of the decline obliges all stakeholders to work constructively to ensure An Post's capacity to fulfil its core mission, meeting the universal service obligation, is not undermined.

Turning to the role of the Minister in this area, clearly he has no direct role in legal proceedings between ComReg and An Post, the costs incurred in legal actions or the amount of management time devoted to these issues. His preference would be a focus on the fundamental problem facing An Post - the drop in mail volumes - and, in addressing this challenge, the importance of maintaining a secure future for An Post. In his view, State bodies must service the interests of the taxpayer and pursue value for money. He has advised both parties that his preference would be to see the issue in question resolved speedily, outside the courts and in a way that did not incur inordinate and unnecessary costs. An Post has indicated it would prefer mediation. The Minister, while fully respecting the statutory independence of ComReg, agrees this would be the best option. Generally, it is the Government’s policy that State agencies ought not to become involved in unnecessary and expensive litigation.

Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Labour)
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It is clear ComReg receives its current funding from the industry it regulates. It has nothing to lose by pursuing by what can be best described as an exercise in folly in challenging An Post because An Post will pay its own costs, as well as ComReg’s. An Post’s financial position is between the red and the black. Will the Minister discover from ComReg the basis for which it arrived at a fine of €12 million? This fine will result in job losses and, invariably, the closure of rural postal services. That is a grave concern for the 400 postal workers I represent in my constituency who are very concerned about ComReg’s lack of objectivity and accountability. What advance notice did ComReg provide for An Post on how it had failed on the issue of quality of service which one would expect to receive in any professional relationship? Who established the scale of the breach? What was the metric used? Where is the independence with respect to the documentation on a breach of some standard operating procedure agreed between An Post and ComReg?

We need to have transparency. Is this some form of vendetta, the carryover from an organisation created by the former Ministers, Charlie McCreevy and Mary Harney, to pursue a neoliberal agenda and attack critically important services for rural Ireland? This will not go away; it will continue to happen week after week and we need answers. We call for accountability and documentation to be placed in the Chamber relating to the measure or metric, how the €12 million figure was reached and on what basis. How or where did An Post break some standard operating procedure on quality?

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that I will bring his comments and views, which have been strongly and clearly expressed, to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte. I appreciate what he has said but I reiterate two things. The EU regulatory framework for the postal sector requires that the regulatory function is discharged separately from the shareholder function of the Minister. That is one significant issue. The Minister absolutely respects the statutory independence of ComReg. Naturally, his preference and the preference of An Post is for this to be settled out of court. Government policy holds that State agencies ought not become involved in unnecessary and expensive litigation. I will bring the Deputy's views directly to the Minister.