Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"acknowledges—

the Government's commitment to a nationwide postal service which ensures all customers, both business and residential, have access to a high quality, competitively priced postal service;

the progress made to date by An Post in respect of its recovery strategy and change programmes as the key factor underpinning improvements in quality of service;

the commitments in the Programme for Government on improved quality of service and the maintenance of a strong and viable post office network;

notes—

the role of ComReg in setting and monitoring An Post quality of service standards;

that the universal service obligation and An Post's role as universal service provider are enshrined in legislation,

and commends

the improvements in next day delivery levels achieved in postal deliveries;

An Post for securing new business for the post office network, such as the payment of Garda fines, utility payments, AIB banking facilities and theE-parcels card;

the approval by Government to the launch of Postbank;

the progress made by An Post management and unions in the implementation of change programmes in order to prepare for the challenges posed by liberalisation and electronic substitution; and

the commitment of the Government to the post office network in terms of the arrangement with the Department of Social and Family Affairs for social welfare payments and with the NTMA for retail savings products."

At the outset I want to acknowledge the presence of two members of An Post management in the Visitors Gallery. I welcome them to the House.

Senator O'Reilly referred to deliveries. In the past five to six years, major industrial relations issues arose in An Post but there has been a vast improvement in that respect. An Post is a shining example to other companies in the way the union works with management in a partnership arrangement and puts the customer first. The union is aware that if the customer is not put first, everybody in the company, management and workers, suffers.

As a national service provider with a long and proud tradition of public service, An Post has a strong interest in what happens in rural as well as urban areas. I am a former employee and trade union official of An Post and I have some affinity with the company.

An Post is currently dealing with the issue of the provision of services under its universal service obligation, the equally significant issue of the European Union led liberalisation of the postal services and the ever present matter of meeting important commercial imperatives. Each of those issues is as relevant to its activity in the urban area as they are in the rural environment. For many years there has been an inexorable move away from rural areas to urban areas, even allowing for a strong underlying growth in the population.

The statistics outlined by Senator O'Reilly are correct but considerable improvements have taken place since. I did my own survey here and asked Deputy Kelly about the postal service in Longford. He said it was tremendous and that his postman was a great ambassador. He said he meets him every morning and he has a smile on his face. He said it was a terrific service. Incidentally, Deputy Kelly, at a past meeting with An Post management and the unions, told the union leader that he should be managing the company and that came about. The union leader at the time is now a manager in Eircom, and An Post had a manager who is now a very good union leader. That is to be applauded.

Last year for the third year in a row An Post reported profits at operational level of €14.7 million. During 2006 it processed up to 3.5 million items of mail each day, a figure which rose to 8 million per day over the Christmas period. That was made possible by increased automation which enabled mail to be sorted automatically down to route level. That was a major improvement in efficiency and productivity.

A postman, particularly in a rural area, is often the only person in touch with people who live on their own. We should never forget that. He is a vital part of the community. The rural transport initiative managed by An Post has developed a model tailored to meet the needs of communities that collects people at their doors and brings them to shops, banks, etc. The progress made by An Post management and unions in the implementation of the change programmes to provide for the challenges posed by liberalisation and electronic substitution is to be commended.

The European Commission took a case against Ireland on the basis that the awarding of the contract of the social welfare distribution to An Post was not in accordance with EU laws. The service is vital to post offices. An Post has provided a good service and I welcome that the ruling provides security for An Post, its workers and its customers. I am pleased that the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland did not fail in its obligations under community law. How much time have I remaining?