Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans for securing the long-term future and viability of An Post, particularly in view of recent reports that widespread closures are predicted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14097/17]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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30. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the actions he is pursuing in view of the difficulties faced by An Post; and the timeframe for the necessary changes to be made at the company and the implementation of the Kerr report recommendations. [14096/17]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment how he plans to secure the long-term future viability of the post office network, particularly in light of recent reports that widespread closures are predicted by An Post, and if he will make a statement to the House on that.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment what actions he and his Department are pursuing in view of the serious difficulties faced by the post office network, with the An Post corporate structure, and the timeframe for the necessary changes to be made at that company for the implementation of the Kerr report and the McKinsey report.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 29 and 30 together.

I thank both my colleagues for their questions. It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong, viable company in a position to provide a high quality, nationwide postal service and that it maintains a nationwide customer-focused network of post offices in the community. Members of the House will be aware from recent discussions on the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Act  2017 that An Post is entering a period of significant change in order to cope with the rapidly changing environment in which it operates.

Nationally and internationally, mail and post office businesses are experiencing long-term structural challenges, with electronic substitution having a significant impact.  This trend has been evident for some years in An Post. The mail volume decline of 38% between the 2007 peak and 2015 accelerated in 2016 with An Post recording a doubling year-on-year volume decline, resulting in a serious financial impact for the company. To put this into context, every 1% decline in mail volume equates to a loss of revenue for An Post of €4 million. The impact of a 2.5% Labour Court pay recommendation last year has added further pressure to an already difficult financial situation. Reflecting the scale of employment provided by An Post, a 1% increase in pay adds €4.5 million to payroll.

As soon as I became aware of the financial situation in An Post late last year, I acted swiftly to examine a number of options to assist in giving the company financial headroom. I met with the chair and CEO of An Post to discuss this matter in detail and also met other stakeholders such as ComReg and the Communications Workers' Union.  In order to stabilise the company's financials, the repeal of the price cap mechanism was identified as the only measure which could be implemented quickly.  I received Government approval in December to introduce legislation to repeal the price cap.  I am glad to acknowledge the co-operation of Deputies across all sides of the House in supporting the passage of the legislation which was enacted last week.  It is important to restate that this was not a decision that was taken lightly. NewERA had conducted an in-depth review of the company in recent months on behalf of myself and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, as the shareholding Ministers, and confirmed the seriousness of the situation facing An Post. It is worth noting that stamp prices in Ireland are well below the European average and it is expected that the proposed increases will bring the price in line with European norms.

The repeal of the price cap is only one of a series of measures which will be necessary to provide the financial underpinning to An Post to allow it to continue to provide mail and post office services.  Fundamental decisions are required about how the company will operate in the future, and the company has started an in-depth review to identify the best approach to the necessary restructuring, the outcome of which is expected in the next month or so.  I continue to monitor the position closely and meet regularly with the chair and chief executive of the company. I look forward to hearing the outcome of the An Post review but it would not be appropriate for me to comment further while this process is still under way.

The Government is acutely aware of the value placed on daily postal deliveries by communities in both rural and urban areas and recognises the importance of ensuring that An Post has the capacity to continue to fulfil its obligations in that regard.  It is important to remember that An Post provides a high quality mail service to businesses and personal customers across the country. The mail network undertakes the delivery of 2.5 million mail items every working day to 2.1 million homes and businesses. It includes 7,620 collection, processing and delivery staff, 160 local delivery units, and four national mail centres. The company has a number of strengths such as its brand and nationwide reach.

I accept that the scale of the price increase proposed is significant for both business and personal customers of An Post. While the price increase should provide additional financial headroom for the company, it is important, in the context of any restructuring proposal that management, unions and staff of the company engage in meaningful discussion in order to position An Post to meet the current and future customer requirements.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The operation of the post office network is an operational matter for An Post and not one in which I have a role.  On foot of a reconfiguration of Departments in July last year, responsibility for the post office network transferred to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.  The implementation of the Kerr report and plans in relation to the network are a matter for that Department and the company.  Any decisions regarding the network of post offices will be given due consideration by all parties in the context of the overall review of the company as a whole.

The Government decision of 19 July 2016 agreed, in accordance with the programme for Government, to transfer responsibility for the post office network from my Department to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.  As the network is an integrated business run by An Post it is not possible to disaggregate urban and rural post offices and therefore the network as a whole is transferred to that Department.  Delivery of the programme for Government commitments, in particular, implementing the report of the post office business development group and actions on post offices and Community banking will be the responsibility of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I am disappointed to say that the Minister has failed to even make a stab at answering the question. I asked him how he plans to secure the long-term future viability of the Post Office network. The Minister has given me a couple of pages from the annual report of An Post. He has reflected on what has happened and what he has done to secure the short-term viability of the company. We have had that debate here on umpteen occasions. The fact of the matter is that for many communities, particularly for those worst affected by this Government's callous cuts of services to rural Ireland, the local post office is the most important social hub. It is the nucleus around which so much other activity is dependent, whether it is the activity of small and medium enterprises in the region or retaining the fabric of rural communities.

This is, without a doubt, a period of change. Government intervention is clearly required. All I am getting from the Government side is that it is an issue for another Minister, such as the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, or the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, but not an issue for the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten. Will the Minister inform the House, and give some confidence to the people who will be affected by the changed structure that An Post is detailing, that the Government cares about those communities and is prepared to act to protect that vital service?

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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The situation at An Post is critical. I am not too lifted by the response that we have received. We need decisive action and we need it quickly. An Post does not have time on its side. The 1,150 post offices around the country do not have time on their side. An Post is a trusted service. The current difficulties provide an opportunity. We need to make a move. We have been hearing talk about what should be done to broaden the number of services for years. Previous Governments of all hues have not acted decisively. We would not be where we are now if they had. We are where we are and we need to move on from that.

When are services for motor tax, business rates, Government services and banking opportunities going to be rolled out? The Kerr report has been around for months. We have seen the outcome of the initial report. It needs to be grabbed. This is not something that we can play around with for another year, two years or three years. We cannot have paralysis. We combined here to pass the Bill. We took decisive action here a couple of weeks ago in support of the Government Bill, because we saw the need for it.

I am saying to the Minister, and one of the problems is there are too many Ministers responsible for it, that we need decisive action on the post office network and to use its difficulties as an opportunity.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The operation of the post office network is an operational matter for An Post and it is one that I do not have any role in. It is also important to point out, as I have pointed out here in the past, that on foot of the reconfiguration of Departments, responsibility for, and accountability to this House for, the post office network transferred to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Heather Humphreys. On 19 July 2016, the decision was taken by Government, in accordance with the programme for Government, to transfer responsibility for the post office network from my Department to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys' Department. The delivery of the programme for Government commitments, in particular, to implementing the report of the post office business development group, and the two groups established on foot of that - the post office hub working group and the network renewal implementation group - and the actions on the post offices and community banking are the responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and her Department.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has succeeded in confusing just about everybody. The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Ring, makes it very clear that his role is about looking at a group of services that could enhance activity within the post office network. He claims to have absolutely no responsibility whatsoever for the operation of the network. The Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, is telling us something different.

The sooner the Government comes clean and tells the people who are affected by this change who is responsible, the better.

On a number of occasions the Minister told us that he has corporate responsibility for An Post. The last time I checked, however, the contract is between postmasters, who, by and large, run the post offices, with the exception of 50 or so that are owned by the company, and An Post where the Minister has effective overall corporate governance responsibility.

It does not take a corporate lawyer to make the connection between the Minister's responsibilities, the effective operation of the contracts and ultimately the delivery of the service. The sooner the Minister accepts his responsibility for a holistic approach of the entire An Post entity and stops shifting responsibility between himself and a fellow Minister, the better.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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We have three Ministers with some level of responsibility for An Post and the post office network, which is a ludicrous situation. While I have admired the Minister for some things he has done, I have criticised him for others. I am approaching this matter constructively, however, as I know that Government Deputies are also frustrated with the situation. I am asking the three relevant Ministers to go to the Taoiseach and ask him to make one of the three of them responsible for An Post. The Minister said he is responsible for the corporate body of An Post, while his colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is responsible for the network and the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, is responsible for developing the smaller less viable post offices. That system cannot work, however. There can only be one Minister with one line of responsibility because all of An Post's services are meshed together. This applies to the GPO and the four mail centres, one of which is in my constituency in Portlaoise.

I am respectfully asking the Minister to do so because they cannot be separated. I think the Minister is frustrated, annoyed and unhappy with this situation. A solution has to be found, so I ask the three Ministers to go to the Taoiseach to sort out who is responsible.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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As regards anything that I have responsibility for in An Post, my form has been to take quick, decisive action. When the issues concerning An Post were brought to my attention, I did just that. The reality is that a decision was taken on 19 July by the Government to transfer responsibility for the post office network to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and her Department.

Naturally enough, as a Deputy from a rural constituency, I know the impact this issue is having on the post office network. I have a huge personal interest in this matter and I have been involved in discussions on it with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, to see how the Government can acknowledge the fact that the post office network is a government network. There is a responsibility on all Ministers to put work through that network which would sustain the maximum possible number of post offices. As Deputies have said, there is an opportunity here to maximise the retention of the network if every Minister takes responsibility and examines how we can improve efficiency within our own Departments and put work through the post office network. When the Kerr report sought submissions, I made a submission as a Deputy which I believe still stands today.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is in a position to deliver on it now.