Results 2,761-2,780 of 8,928 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is my understanding, but I will revert to the Deputy and we can have an ongoing engagement. I assure the Deputy that there is a commitment to support Shannon Airport in whatever way we can and to ensure that it does the business that it does best, which is commercial activity and engaging and negotiating with airlines. We do not want the funding to just be a handout.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Shannon does not want that either. It wants to do its own business and we want to facilitate it in doing so.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Officials in my Department will be engaging with Shannon Group's CEO on supports as we exit the pandemic, as we have been with all airports across the country. I will revert to the Deputy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It was apparent to me early on after entering my Ministry that the services being explored by various Departments would not be adequate to maintain the existing post office network and that more work needed to be done across the Government in order to identify potential services that could be provided offline. Under the Government's digital strategy, 90% of services are to be provided...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: What this financial package does – it is what the postmasters and postmistresses were asking for from me and the Senator as they travelled around the country – for the first in the history of the State is to ensure that if a postmaster or postmistress wants to retire for personal reasons, it will not be because his or her post office is not viable. In other words, it will not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is up to the postmaster. There will be incentives for providing more services, be they banking or whatever, working with An Post on the provision of these services. An Post is providing training to postmasters. It is also its role to identify and work with postmasters on the provision of extra services. There is also a call on members of the public to use their local post office. If...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I agree with the Senator. We have a role to play in saying members of the public need to use their local post office and getting that message out there. I have attended public meetings where people were outraged that their local post office was closing but, when we go through the numbers, the footfall is just not there in some post offices. We have a role to play, as does An Post. This is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is about providing the services the public will use and are interested in using so they will want to go to the post office. An Post has a strong role in that. It is focused on the modernisation of the network. It has done a significant amount of work over the past number of years on turning it around. This is a very important and pivotal moment for the post office network. It is down...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank the Senator for those comments. I am on the record in stating the importance of having that regional connectivity. As the Senator knows, we funded part of the new runway at Cork Airport. I was honoured to officially open it. It is critical we maintain our existing airport network, which was what I was focused on during the pandemic. We now need to keep reviewing this constantly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: The decisions airlines make regarding where they fly into are commercial.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Absolutely. The money we gave, for example, to Cork was €8.3 million. That was for Cork Airport to directly engage with airlines, to attract and to incentivise them to bring in more-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am ensuring that our airports are supported. Cork Airport received over €22 million last year in a range of supports. That included the regional airports programme and the Covid supports. Airlines make their own commercial decisions as to where they will go. It is up to the airports to deal directly with them. I take the points raised earlier about regional connectivity and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Senator Buttimer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: No, that was An Post.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: The €10 million will come into being from 1 January of next year. The €8.5 million pandemic relief fund negotiated between the IPU and An Post was over 18 months. This €10 million is over 12 months.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: This needs to get state aid approval, which we are very sure we will get. It will be a grant given by the State to the postmasters but through An Post, so An Post will administer the grant. It will be done in consultation between the IPU and An Post and will then be approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Future of the An Post Network: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jun 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: The exact workings of that have to be figured out between the IPU and An Post, and then it will be agreed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The aim is to target those that are struggling the most so as to ensure that we can keep the existing post office network open and that those that are most in need will benefit most. How it will work out will have to be worked out...