Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I share Senator O'Toole's concern and regret the Minister is not automatically accepting these amendments or at least their spirit, while proposing to come back on Report Stage with similar amendments.

The object of the mediation proposal is that when there are two diametrically opposed positions, as an exercise of last resort, there should be an independent mediation service. We believe that to be eminently sensible. The Minister talks about regulation and we have no problem with that, but can he say whether, when unbridled regulation has been in place, it has improved services and made them cheaper? In the case of the ESB, telecommunications, taxis etc. this does not always follow. I do not care whether the Minister seeks to amend our wording, to circumscribe the amendment or insert it ultimately as a last resort, but it should be there, in the event of disputes that require independent mediation. Such an amendment would enhance the Bill rather than undermining its objectives.

Our objective in the second amendment is to save our four automated exchange centres and the €100 million in taxpayers' money that is being put into their creation. It is our objective to save the 2,000 jobs associated with those, and the universal service obligations, to ensure next-day and good service delivery to all parts of the country at a relatively cheap cost. The concern in the second amendment is that a private operator could negotiate a competitive price below the standard An Post price for the delivery of post to a particular area. It could cherry pick a population centre within the catchment area of a particular automated centre, for example Galway city. At local level the mail could be put into circulation there and An Post workers would do the leg work in delivering it, the operator having got into the market at a low price. We are arguing it must go in through the automated centres and accept the overall obligations, and not focus on a targeted population area at a lower level or critical mass to the mail centre.

We accepted the principle on Second Stage and understand that the EU directive must be put in place. However, our objective in all these amendments is that we implement the directive, but temper it in such a manner to fit distinctly Irish conditions and the needs of the Irish people as regards the postal service. The objective studies show this country cannot bear too much competition in this area and that An Post would be relatively unviable at a low margin of profit. Although it is profitable, efficient and exemplary in the way it does its business based on all the objective standards, it is not fit for competition on an uneven playing pitch. We are trying to ensure this is not the case, and it is a question of putting in place a suitable methodology. We believe independent mediation is not an inherently harmful process because anybody presenting before it with a wrong proposition, including wrong pricing data, will not survive. In fact anyone supporting such a false premise would not even get that far, since this would have been dealt with at an earlier stage.

If somebody is not prepared, in relation to the mail centres, to take on the postal service at mail centre level for an entire region, he or she should not be allowed to cherry pick a small densely populated area to optimise profit and place An Post in an unprofitable position. Our objectives, therefore, are straightforward. They seek to comply with the directive, but in a way that will ensure the universal service obligations are in place, that the good sustainable jobs in An Post will be maintained and that the post will be delivered relatively cheaply, while maintaining current efficiencies. In trying to achieve this we believe mediation and the other provision as regards not coming in lower than the four automated mail centres, are addressed in these amendments.

This is not a question of somebody being right, half-right or wrong but about doing the right thing by the consumer and postal workers. I appeal to the Minister to reconsider his attitude to these amendments.