Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

An Post has achieved much in recent years. Not so long ago its management and staff were at loggerheads. I am glad to see that day has gone, that management and unions are working together for the good of the company and that any changes to its practices are implemented after discussion between both groups. More, however, needs to be done. The company has reached 78% of its projected 94% of next day delivery and hopes to bring that to 80% by the end of the month, which would be welcome.

I am more concerned about the impact of post office closures throughout the country. In the past seven years the number of post offices has decreased from 1,800 to just 1,300, corresponding to a closure every five days which has had an impact on rural services. An Post is one of the largest retail chains in the country, larger than AIB and the Spar network. There is one post office for every 3,000 people.

An Post adds so much to our society that it would be the death of some communities if their post office closed. One third of all post office business is based on social welfare. Post offices are an essential part of daily life in rural Ireland. As Senator Norris said, people go to them for a chat, to pick up local gossip and hear about local events or the local football team. In many parts of the country the post office is the last community service because the pub and local shops have gone. People from all walks of life regularly use the post office, from children starting their first accounts to parents collecting child benefit and elderly people collecting their pensions. Some things are worth paying for and if it requires additional subsidy to ensure this essential community service is retained throughout the country, then the Government should provide it.

Sceptics say that with the advent of e-mail there is less need for postal services, but international comparisons show that is not strictly true. Use of the postal service here has increased by 8% over the past two years while the volume in Denmark has decreased by 1% and in the UK by 2%. We have the second highest growth rate in Europe, which shows that people continue to use the service. The amount of post despatched from the Houses of the Oireachtas shows that it is an essential form of communication.

The EU deadline to ensure an open postal market is only a few years away and we need to know how the Government will respond to this. Attempts at privatising other sectors has caused problems because in some cases it has not been adequately thought out. We have time to ensure any liberalisation of the postal market can be properly implemented. We can also learn from other countries. In the UK the privatisation of the Royal Mail led to significant problems. New entrants to the market did their own sorting which increased the complexity of delivery mechanisms throughout the country. As a result, the charging rates in the UK may in future be based on distance rather than volume. We need to know what will happen to the post box at the end of the street and who will be responsible for next day service. We need to ensure any changes to the universal service obligation are well thought out.

I saw a report in the newspaper a few weeks ago that An Post is reviewing the cost-effectiveness of the universal service obligation. We need assurances this obligation will remain. I would be interested in the Minister of State's views on that review. The Labour Party suggested introducing a postal industry regulator or adding this function to ComReg. We need to consider regulation to ensure the interests of the consumer are protected.

Post codes are a mid-20th century mechanism for sorting and delivering post. Other methods are available, for example, the Garda, ambulance services and pizza delivery services use new technology such as geodata.