John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

I share Senator O'Reilly's anxieties. New entrants should not be able to access the system below the regional mail centres of Dublin, Cork, Athlone and Portlaoise. An Post is a quality provider and the value and quality of its service is well documented and properly monitored. There was a recent infusion of €150 million in capital funding in the centres which provide 2,000 jobs. The last place the new entrants will want to be involved is the last mile if they are to make a profit and we should impose the correct regulations now while taking cognisance of everything. If jobs are to be lost in An Post and replaced in the private sector, not only will the profits be transferred from An Post to the private operators, the workers will be subsidised in the context of social welfare top-ups on their pay scales and, indirectly, the taxpayer would pay again. We need to get that right and to ensure the cost of the last mile is included every step of the way and that the four regional mail centres will be the access point for the independent operators to the service.