Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

In amendment No. 10, my party seeks to extend the definition of the working day to include Saturday if the commission so decides. That is to enable postal deliveries throughout the State on Saturday at some future date.

On the issue of the definition of "installation" raised by the other Senators, including Senator O'Toole, the Bill could benefit from clearer wording. I say that as someone with some experience in the matter. I live in an apartment block in Dunshaughlin where I get my post, not in the front door but down in the foyer, and I have no difficulty with that. I am aware of the situation in other countries. For instance, in Toronto in Canada, as the Minister will be aware, the post is not delivered to one's front door or the front door of one's apartment but to a central point on the street where every house on that street has its own mailbox. While it makes it more efficient for the postal delivery worker, it makes it difficult at times for local residents to collect their post because they must leave their house, go down the street, open their box and take out their post. On days of inclement weather such as this, it is not easy to do. We need to be clear about the type of installations the Minister has in mind. Does he mean something which could be quite remote from the home and, if so, is there a limit in his mind as to how far away it could be, for instance, 10 m or 100 m down the road? We could benefit from some clarity. I have no issue with such deliveries if it is an apartment or if it is just outside the front door-----