Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for listening to our contributions on what I believe to be a very important issue. The first indication I got about this legislation was from some of the union representatives who wanted it stopped at any cost. On investigation, I informed the people who contacted me that the legislation would provide whatever protection it could and that it was effectively the roll-out of a directive which had been in existence for a number of years and only now seemed to be causing concern as it sought to deal with the common envelope postage size, to which it attached relevance. I made the point to those who were concerned about the protection of the social service as well as the excellent door-to-door service we enjoy that if we did not legislate, full liberalisation would be introduced in January 2011. Therefore, the fact we are enacting legislation is very significant. It is important Ireland recognises the value of the unique situation it enjoys while bearing in mind the changes taking place within postal delivery services nationally and internationally.

Incidentally, the people who contacted me used e-mail, not post, and that leads one to ask why they used this form of communication. Was it for reasons of cost or speed or did they believe their overtures would be taken more seriously? That comes back to one of the points in the Minister's speech, which surprised me, namely, that 90% of postal mail is devoted to business delivery. I had not realised everything else only amounted to 10%. Some of the people contacting me would not consider it business, perhaps, and would view politics as being different as well.

It is important to find the balance between having a very efficient service, as we have, and being able to liberalise and have competition, given what Members have said in this debate. As representatives of the people, we are not immune from the situation around us. My region is the size of County Louth with a population equivalent to County Leitrim. My colleague, Senator Mooney, will be able to vouch for the fact that some counties have very few big towns. In my area, with 32,000 people, there is one town of about 4,500 and two with about 1,500 in each. Everything else is rural. I could name the postmen in the area because we all know them. We know the postmen for the different regions. When one is looking for someone it is normal to find the postman and he will tell one where everyone is. Normally he is the only point of contact for the elderly. I know that is not a good enough reason to keep the postal service, but it is something we must bear in mind. Postal staff are able to keep a handle on what is going on socially in the countryside, and in some instances they alone are in a position to get help, when needed, for someone in a particular region who may not have an alternative source of contact.

I am not aware of anywhere where people have to drive 20 miles to deliver a letter, but in much of my area one might drive that distance and come across only a handful of people. No on drives 20 miles just for the sake of it. We have fought the battle for the retention of post offices. This was an issue for a number of years, with post offices closing because they could not compete with the banks. It is ironic that we now have campaigns aimed at getting people to use their post offices while it is the banks that are causing the most grief.

I thank all those involved in installing computers and new facilities in post offices which have enabled them to increase the services they can provide. The campaign for retaining post offices was very particular about emphasising the need for people to use the service. In some respects, I would use the same argument now to those using e-mail or texting rather than sending a hand-written letter. There is an onus on people to use a service if they want to maintain it. A popular bone of contention for us is when a bus service ceases and one receives 50 letters of complaint. One contacts the bus company only to be told that no more than three of those who signed the letters actually used the bus to prevent the service from being suspended. There is a circular argument about the use of the services that may be in place at a particular time.

I want to highlight my complete abhorrence of the attacks that have taken place on post offices, such as the one in Carrigans. There has been a long story to that. The post mistress was taken out of her job there and, while I will not go into the details, I am sure the Minster is aware of the case. It is deplorable, however, that people can attack our post offices which represent such a vibrant part of our communities and which we have fought hard to maintain. We have given the post offices extra services and responsibilities and they are regarded as an integral part of our communities, especially along the Border. Now those working in the service believe themselves to be the target for opportunistic criminals from across the Border.

The issue of integrity of the post is something I want to touch on as well. Many people talk about the postal code they might have had in London. I lived in Nigeria for a while and in terms of the communal post boxes there, one could be guaranteed one would never get any money or valuables that might have been sent to one. The integrity of the postal system is of the utmost importance.

I have raised the issue of the phone book with the Minister before. There was consultation and I am interested to hear what evolved. I took three phone books in three different years and the font size in the directories has become increasingly small, so small now as to be actually wrapping around into where the book folds. There were certain numbers I looked up from year to year, but it has got to the stage now that even I, with relatively good sight courtesy of laser treatment, cannot read the number. Telephone books are mostly used by elderly people who may not know how to obtain a number from a website or how to use the directory exchange facility.

As stated by Senator McCarthy there are oceans of books lying around apartment complexes. I would prefer if An Post printed half the amount of telephone books it prints and that in those printed a reasonable sized font which people can read was used. Also, rather than deliver telephone books people could collect them from a designated place in a town or village. If owing to cost and the need to reduce the amount of paper used a smaller font is being used I suggest it would be better for An Post to print half the amount of telephone books it currently prints and for it to be more careful in terms of distribution. I made a contribution on this matter to the public consultation forum. It is an important matter to groups such as Age Action Ireland and so on. We are inhibiting people from using services. It is important we try to minimise the negative and maximise the positive.

To return to the issues outlined in regard to the unions, the universal services obligation and the legislation needing to make provision for what will happen in a worse case scenario, I am concerned about the possibility of cherry picking of what is profitable.