Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

As previous speakers said, this process will cost jobs and lead to extra delivery costs. Even if we are to provide for competition, there is no way to bring down costs. The country has a population per square kilometre of 58, while the EU average is 178.2. If we are to provide the same service across the country as in the main population centres, there will be a cost in jobs, postage charges and post office numbers. This will lead to the closure of post offices and a diminution in services.

The Royal Mail in Britain is losing money because it delivers mail for competitors at a cost set by the regulator. Where does the Minister stand on this issue? If the Royal Mail is delivering for competitors brought on board at a cost set by the regulator, it makes no sense. There is a lot of work to be done here. I hope we will have more time to go into the matter in detail on Committee Stage because the last paragraph on page 8 of the article of associations sums it up. There will be cost increases and a diminution of services.