David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister. I would like to speak on the amendments in group 5. There is much concern in rural Ireland about the future of postal services and the potential downgrading of An Post. I am sure the Minister is aware of that. Many arguments were made on Second Stage, both here and in the Dáil, about the fact that the post office has a social dimension and is not just about the provision of postal services. Local post offices are much more than just a service that delivers post. In many towns and villages across the State, they are seen as pillars of the community - a place where people interact socially, which is important for pensioners and people who are isolated due to a lack of public transport. There is a dependency on An Post in rural Ireland. That is why I want to see An Post retained as the only provider of the collection and delivery of letters.

An Post has served us very well and I do not see why we would consider its privatisation. While the Minister will say we are simply opening the market to competition, we saw what happened with Eircom, which led to the privatisation of the industry. We then saw the slow roll-out, almost at a snail's pace, of broadband infrastructure which proved to be a disaster for rural communities. For these reasons, I cannot support what the Minister is proposing in the Bill.

The Minister will recall that when he sat on the Opposition benches with Sinn Féin Members, the then Minister had no understanding of social ownership, the social dimension or the social needs post offices served. The Minister's party was supportive of the policies and proposals Sinn Féin was bringing forward. There was a meeting of minds in our parties on these issues, but it now seems there is a divergence between us and I wonder why that is the case.

I echo the point made by Senator Mark Daly on the commitment given in the programme for Government covering a 20 year period. Why is the Government deviating from that commitment? Why is the period being reduced from 20 years to 12? What is the reasoning behind this?

My main argument with the Bill is that I want to see An Post being the only service provider. I do not believe the opening up of the sector to competition will inevitably lead to the provision of a better service. Private operators will cherrypick the routes or services they want to provide and it might lead to a weakened system for many, especially those living in rural communities. For these reasons, I will be opposing the Bill and the amendments I cited in group 5.