Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to say a few words on the motion tabled by my colleague, Senator O'Reilly. I am also mystified as to the reason an amendment to this motion was tabled because it has facilitated a useful debate on the services that have been and continue to be provided by An Post. I also welcome the staff from An Post to the Public Gallery.

Some great ideas have been put forward during this debate. The Leader of the House, Senator Cassidy, has frequently put forward his suggestion regarding the electoral register. I agree fully with Senator Cassidy and other speakers who proposed it in the House this evening. Undoubtedly, An Post is the organisation that can perform the best job in respect of the electoral register. It representatives visit every house and know the people in every locality and its employees are the best people for the job.

Much has been said in respect of social inclusion and much money has been spent in this regard by local authorities, health boards and other bodies nationwide. Senator Ó Domhnaill is correct to state that postmen could be a useful resource in the context of visiting houses. Perhaps this should be considered on a weekly basis in rural Ireland in particular. Some houses probably do not receive mail from year to year and having the postman call on a weekly basis, undoubtedly would provide a great social service in the most rural localities. This proposal should be considered by the Minister.

I also believe that An Post should have entered some public private partnerships, particularly in respect of the Internet café business. Perhaps it is not yet too late for An Post to enter such a business and it should explore this avenue. While I welcome the improvements that have been made in respect of next-day delivery, it is a shame to see the staggering number of post offices that are closing down nationwide. Were the Minister and An Post to consider some of the proposals made in the House this evening, it could have the effect of re-opening some of those offices. The Government amendment alludes to securing new business and I am sure all Members, as well as all public representatives nationwide, would welcome any initiatives put forward by either the Government or An Post.

I wish to draw the Minister's attention to an issue in respect of dormant accounts. This matter has been brought to my attention by Councillor Michelle Mulherin from Ballina, who is a solicitor. While acting in her professional capacity, she wrote on behalf of an estate to An Post regarding some savings bonds or certificates. An Post replied stating it had no record of anyone holding savings bonds with the names she had forwarded. It took An Post two months to reply. She wrote to An Post again and after a considerable time, she received the same reply, that is, nothing. While not everyone has the physical bonds or savings certificates to hand, in this case she had them in her possession and could furnish them to An Post. An Post then found the names of the people who corresponded to the bonds and the certificates she had. It would not be long before those accounts would become dormant and the money would be disbursed to the dormant accounts fund. The person in this case had moved to rented accommodation and even if An Post made every effort to find him or her, it might not have succeeded. I cannot understand how An Post had no record in this case. Is it due to poor technology? Was the delay in answering the solicitor due to lack of personnel? In how many other cases has this happened? We are in favour of new business being created and the Government motion mentions retail savings products, but were it not for the diligence of this solicitor this estate would have lost out. She had to write to An Post twice and received two refusals. I ask that the Minister of State bring this to the attention of An Post, the senior Minister or whoever is involved. It begs the question as to how diligently the searches are done and whether we have suitable technology. I welcome the Minister of State's acknowledgement when he nods to say he will investigate this matter. Perhaps we should have a debate on the dormant accounts aspect of this. I look forward to the Minister of State responding to me on this issue.