Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, and welcome this timely debate. I and other speakers were present at yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, of which I am a member. Members have described the grim picture presented to the committee of what appears to be an inevitable stand-off between a group of unions representing many thousands of State workers and management, against the backdrop of a commercial State company in difficulty. While I would not go so far as to say An Post is in crisis, it faces serious challenges. We, as Members of the Oireachtas and citizens of the country, must take an interest in and be supportive of initiatives to bring the commercial semi-State body that is An Post forward and ensure the problems are resolved.

I do not want to rehearse what others have stated in regard to the deep unhappiness expressed yesterday by the group of unions at what they perceive to be the refusal of the management of An Post to talk to them or negotiate on change. They believe that not only will management not play ball with them but that it is being obstructive. An example was given of a Labour Court hearing on 22 January last before which, as union officials were entering the Labour Court, they received telephone messages from their members to tell them there had been suspensions. The atmosphere this created was a difficult one and causes union representatives to throw their hands in the air and question whether management are serious about negotiation.

The Minister is aware of the strong indication from the group of unions that it is being forced into a confrontation and forced to take industrial action to protect and preserve the rights of its members. This cannot be allowed to happen. While we did not get to hear fully from the management side, it is clear it takes a different view. We face a potential head-on collision between the group of unions and the management of An Post. It must be asked whether this serves the future of a company facing serious and immediate problems and the answer is that it does not.

All Members of the House are united in believing the only and best way forward is through a partnership approach. I call on all involved, including the Government as the main stakeholder on behalf of the public, to ensure that a way is found to get off the hook the parties are rapidly getting themselves onto. The unions must consider a plan B. It is one thing to state they are protecting the rights of their workers, and I totally support the right of the unions to protect their members as that is their purpose. However, the future of the company is at stake. At some level, a decision must be made by everyone involved to put the interests of the company and the future of the postal service first. A stand-off is not the way to achieve this.

The Minister and the Government must ensure that partnership is put in place. Of course partnership cannot be "put" in place — it is a voluntary decision of the parties to enter a partnership. In particular, I call on the management of An Post to be partners, to respect the views of their workers, treat them with respect and actively listen to what they have to say.

From what I heard yesterday, particularly from the postmasters' union, I am convinced that those working in An Post want to contribute to the future of the company. I know from speaking to workers at Nenagh post office, who raised this matter with me over the counter, that they know the company has difficulties. They want to help and be part of the solution. I call on the company to find the necessary strategies and to actively engage in a partnership because, when one considers the backdrop, it is urgent this happens.

Major change is taking place in postal services worldwide. While the extensive use of Internet facilities is great for consumers, and I use it to pay my bills, it means fewer letters go through the mail system. Therefore, the postal service is facing a new challenge as a result of Internet use, e-commerce and the communications revolution. On the other hand, opportunities arise from this, for example, on the parcel delivery side linked to Internet mail order trade and e-commerce.

An Post needs to be able to manage this change and can only successfully do so if a strategy is in place. That strategy is long overdue. Yesterday's committee meeting, which I attended, was told that a strategy has been in place for over a year. There is not much evidence of this and I did not get any sense of urgency on the part of management to progress the strategy. Thousands of postal workers on the streets outside the Oireachtas complaining about not being paid their last wage round increase, among other complaints, does not create the environment necessary to move forward.

My desire, shared by others in the House, is that An Post would be a commercial State company of which we can all be proud. We want to marry the major social role of An Post with it being a successful commercial enterprise. This is the same ethic which has driven commercial State companies since the idea was first devised in the early days of the State. We want our commercial semi-State companies to continue to play their social role in the community while at the same time being quality commercial enterprises. The question is whether this can be achieved in the case of An Post — I think it can.

Members have referred to the rural post office. There seems to be a sense coming from the management of An Post that they have somehow given up on the rural post office, and that it is a low paid, part-time and unimportant role. That is fine until one lives in rural Ireland or works in a rural post office or small village. The majority of post offices are in rural Ireland. Why do post offices not use the technology which the postmasters told yesterday's committee meeting they wanted to use? The postmasters want investment in rural post offices so they can upgrade their services, provide the full potential service using new technology and be a real hub of activity in their communities. I should not need to reiterate the importance of a post office in a village, particularly for the elderly and those not in a position to travel into towns to avail of services.

Why can we not consider having high quality postal services available locally? Post offices should provide people with a quality service, which is what many postmasters are endeavouring to do, as well providing a hub of social contact and community activity in villages. That has been the role of post offices, in addition to postmen and women. I do not want to pretend that a mythical notion of some former Ireland should somehow be recreated in the modern world, but we can modernise our post office network to a far greater extent than the management of An Post seems committed to doing.

How committed is the management of An Post to seeing the rural network enhanced to a level where it can maximise efficiency, value for money and service? Must we always examine ways of cutting postal services in rural areas on the basis that it will always cost more to provide them outside urban areas? Why can we not be creative and work within the context of the social role of the post office combined with its role as a commercial enterprise? In that context we could possibly move forward.

I am sure the Government is not underestimating the size of the challenge. I note that in his remarks to the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, stressed the partnership approach. The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, although he has only been in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources a relatively short time, has also emphasised the same approach. Ultimately we are looking at a public service which must manage its business effectively and well. Taxpayers' money is being invested in it so it must be run efficiently and not at a loss. I believe that can be done in a genuine partnership with the workers.

In its edition of 22 January 2005, The Economist examined the global picture for postal services across the world. It painted a clear picture of a major challenge which cannot be underestimated here. The only way An Post can manage the challenge of retaining a social role in a commercial context is to work in a genuine partnership with its workers. That partnership cannot be undertaken on a pretend basis, with An Post management stating: "Yes, we are partners", while not really meaning it. Such partnerships have worked in other semi-State companies and there is no reason that it could not work in An Post also. I urge the Minister and his Government colleagues to ensure that happens in the case of this company.