Dáil debates
Wednesday, 21 February 2024
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Post Office Network
9:40 am
Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking Topical Issue Matters today. From about 8.45 onwards this morning and every weekday morning, a trickle of people start to arrive at Phibsborough post office. That trickle very quickly turns into a queue and that queue is representative of the vast array of different people who live in and make Phibsborough their home. They queue outside the post office for a variety of reasons. It is a hub of the community.
Phibsborough post office provides a multitude of different services. The people who go there frequent it for the services it offers, the sense of the community and the conversations they have along the way. In the past two weeks or so, the community has been told that Phibsborough post office is at risk of being closed or having the services significantly diluted and placed off site.
I cannot begin to describe the manner in which I would object to that. As I said, it is a place where people buy their stamps and so on, but it is far more than that. Phibsborough post office is not unique in that sense. Post offices the length and breadth of Ireland play a vital community role. If we are to erode those services, it would be to the detriment of the community and the people who use them.
First, I strongly seek more information from the Government. I note the Minister of State is representing the Minister for communications. I would like to understand better the intention for the erosion of this service. I strongly protest against any dilution of the services. We simply cannot have a scenario where it is outsourced to a postmaster who moves those services off site to the back of a shop or we find some other little outlet that does not come anywhere close to providing the same service. I wish to understand exactly what the Government’s plan is. The Minister of State can speak of post offices in general but I ask that he speak about Phibsborough, if possible.
I also wish to understand how best we can oppose this. I do not believe for a second the Minister with responsibilities for postal services, Deputy Ryan, wants to see the erasure of these types of services in communities. There has to be an appreciation of the role they play. You do not notice those services until somebody says they are gone. Last week, there was a general level of anxiety, with people wondering what would happen if the post office were taken away. There is no bank in Phibsborough, so that post office becomes a hub where older people in particular, who are not using their phones, do their banking.
The postal service on Mountjoy Street was taken away a number of years ago and there was a threat to remove Phibsborough post office in 2017. We should not have to protest too hard to keep these types of services. They are needed and valued. Post offices are a central hub of communities. I would like to understand the Government’s plan and position and how best we oppose this dilution of service.
James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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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.
9:50 am
Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I disagree with him in that I do not necessarily think a dilution of services through their transfer from An Post to a different style of service will have any benefit at all for the community. That is captured, in particular, by the staff who currently work in the An Post office at Phibsborough. There is a genuine sense of anxiety about what it will mean for their employment and the people who avail of that service. I appreciate the building has a particular significance within the area. I hope it is not the Minister's plan, and the Minister of State might clarify whether it is intended for the services to remain within the building. That is not the understanding of the community regarding these changes. It is expected that the services will transfer to a smaller building, which would definitely impact the nature and type of community we have in Phibsborough.
I oppose, from the bottom of my heart, any dilution of services in the postal service at Phibsborough. It will have a detrimental effect on the sense of community spirit there. We cannot keep losing institutions from communities. Phibsborough is going through various changes, but there have to be landmark buildings and places where people can gather and go about their business. Taking that away erodes the fabric of communities. It will have a detrimental effect. I encourage the Minister of State to implore the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, to go back to An Post to ensure the service remains on site in Phibsborough. We do not need any more postal services in the backs of shops. It does not work. I thank the Minister of State. I will take the matter up further.
James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I certainly agree with the Deputy regarding the importance of our post offices and the fact they go way above and beyond the individual services provided in those local communities. As I indicated, decisions relating to post offices are operational matters for An Post, but the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, will continue to engage with the company on the proposed conversion of post offices and those concerns that have been raised by the Deputy and other Deputies. At the meeting, An Post gave an undertaking to review its decision on proposed conversion and will revert to the Minister of State in the very near future.
Deputy Gannon will appreciate that the Minister cannot issue a direction to prevent An Post from doing that which the Oireachtas has given it to do as a statutory responsibility. An Post has an independent board with a clear mandate and plays an important role in serving the needs of business and domestic customers alike. This is at the forefront of An Post's mandate. The board of management is doing what it can to maintain the company's sustainability and relevance to customers. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, that includes relevance to local communities. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, and their officials and Cabinet colleagues are working to support the company to that end.