Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I support the remarks of Senator Brian Hayes regarding Women's Aid, which has expressed complete dismay at the lack of funding for its centre. It is no longer able to answer a large percentage of telephone calls made by people who are generally in a pretty desperate situation. Having reached the point of having to ring Women's Aid to seek help they are unable to have their call answered due to a shortage of funding. Last year I made the same point but the position has not changed for the charity.

With regard to An Post, I wish to express serious concern about the delay in getting letters or parcels delivered. Today I received a letter which was posted on 21 September. It took ten working days it to get from Blanchardstown to Kildare Street. I had a similar experience when a map posted to me in Kildare Street from Fingal County Council in Swords took three weeks to arrive. While awaiting its arrival I had to request a second map, which arrived within time. How can business survive with this type of service from An Post? If we cannot get our post delivered on time, that is a serious issue in terms of our competitiveness and our economy.