Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

Have new types of business been introduced to postal services in other jurisdictions? Are there postal services which deliver more than letters and parcels? What other types of business is the Minister speaking about? I fear this will make us more uncompetitive against the rest of Europe. There is no doubt our costs will go up. The Minister put considerable emphasis on the role of the regulator, saying he or she would have information about the cost of providing such services and would gain expertise in this area over time, enabling him or her to make determinations about the price a provider could charge. If that is the case, it is competition only in name. It is not real competition such as occurs in the world of retail or business.