Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

If there are examples of prohibitive costs, let us look at them and tease out where things went wrong and learn from the experience. The Senator wondered whether I accept IT is very important. I think it is very important and I think it will be even more important in the years ahead. That is why An Post must be adaptable and innovative in the same way as other institutions, and must look at which way the wind is blowing and adapt to that.

We have had a debate on seven years and 30 years. There is a difference between a road project and the postal service. When a road is built, it is built from scratch and I can understand that if it is being financed from private sources, there must be a much longer lead-in time of 25 to 30 years for it. There is a much shorter timeline for using IT systems and mechanical systems for places like An Post. We cannot compare chalk with cheese in this instance. An Post has invested heavily in its services, but it is not correct to compare it to the major capital infrastructural projects that have gone on within the State over the last decade.

I accept the point made about learning the lessons of Eircom, making sure there is no quick fix solution that could be challenged in future years. The world is changing. I got rid of my Eircom line and I think many households in the State have done so. The biggest mistake we could make is to pretend the world has not changed and that things will be the same in 20 or 30 years. A key issue within the Bill is to move on and to make sure we are adaptable and capable of responding to the information technology challenges.

It must be stated that designation is not a prerequisite to innovation, and An Post will still be the national, State owned postal service provider offering a national postal service. The universal service obligation is an obligation on the State, and designating An Post for seven years ensures the universal service obligation is met. ComReg is still charged with ensuring this universal service, and decisions it makes on designations must be made to meet this objective. However, as I stated, the market is changing rapidly and the universal service obligation could be met by the market and designated universal service providers. A period in excess of seven years is not appropriate, given the changing market. It could be the equivalent of giving a 30 year level of service provision to the canals when the railways had just started up. The world is changing and I want to reflect that. At the same time, I want to ensure that we allow An Post to continue as a strong, innovative and viable company.