Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Senators who have contributed to this debate. There is a large degree of agreement on the strong points of An Post but I would be churlish to avoid the points of disagreement raised. As Senator Conway pointed out, the brand enjoys tremendous recognition, respect and trust. That is a worthwhile place from which to start. I agree with Senator Quinn that the commitment of An Post's workers to delivering a public service is recognised throughout the country.

Senator Darragh O'Brien asked whether I was going to respond to specific issues. He referred in particular to recommendation No. 5 on providing additional Government services through the post office network. I can respond specifically to that recommendation. Payment of the property tax is one example of the services that post offices already offer. An Post and its postmasters have acknowledged the need to diversify, create new products and provide services at their counters. They have been doing that. The Senator also referred to hospital charges. A pilot scheme is in operation with the HSE to investigate what might be done on hospital charges.

His comments reflected a central theme in this debate but we must be practical about these matters. There is a good reason most local authority tenants go to their local authority offices to pay rent, namely, because they will also be conducting other business related to the fact that they are renting from the local authority. It is not a matter of one size fits all. An Post's management has been imaginative in developing new services but it makes sense to make certain payments elsewhere.

Senator Mary Ann O'Brien's central point was that all I have to do is direct Government business to An Post. I am saddened that a person of such business acumen and well-known altruistic disposition has been infected by the cynicism she observes in the environment of this House. She claimed that it is only the Government's cynicism that threatens the future of the post office network and that all I need to do is direct business to post offices. However, we live in a deregulated environment. I cannot direct contract business to the post office network.

There are rules and regulations, regardless of whether we like them, that require these matters to be put out to tender, just like the contract at the Department of Social Protection, which An Post won fair and square. I would not, therefore, be permitted to do it and not because I necessarily disagree fundamentally with what Senator Darragh O'Brien said about the operation of procurement in Ireland when compared with countries such as France. I am in large measure in agreement with him.

One of the things I have learned since the banking crash is that perhaps not all 28 member states are as equal as we might have thought they were in the official babble. We scrupulously apply procurement and state aid rules. My colleagues and officials in different Departments say this is because we are required to do so, that we are monitored closely and that we largely get the benefit of this. There is no doubt, however, that it also imposes serious demands on us in their preparation and duration and sometimes that confers disadvantage on us. That is a fact. Nonetheless, Senator Mary Ann O'Brien is addressing the central point running through many contributions, that the post office is manifestly good, is held in very high regard by citizens, that all the Government has to do is direct more contracts to An Post and everything will be grand and that a Government that does not do this is cynical. It is not that we are cynical. I would like to see An Post adapting, modernising and innovating, as Senator Tony Mulcahy argued, to ensure it can compete with the best. We passed a postal Bill in this House not too long ago which made it plain that we were functioning in a deregulated environment. If we look at the rate at which e-commerce is growing in Ireland - it was worth €3.7 billion last year, 76% of which came from outside - there are competing companies here for that business. It is a matter for An Post to make sure it can do this as efficiently, if not better. I cannot roll back the clock in that regard. It is the environment in which we are operating.

It is not a cynical Government that is responsible for the challenges confronting An Post - either this Government or its predecessors - but the changing environment. It is technology. The core business of An Post which was to deliver mail has been challenged by e-substitution; it is changing technology, deregulation and other big issues which challenge An Post. As has been acknowledged by a number of Senators, it is adapting. The postmasters produced their own report in which they acknowledged that they had to adapt, innovate and think about new services and provide in their premises for the idea of a one-stop-shop, as mentioned by a number of Senators.

I am in sympathy with a number of issues raised such as an exemption for prize bonds, a matter raised by Senators Sean D. Barrett, Feargal Quinn and others. That makes good sense to me and we have been in communication with the Minister. There are already discussions taking place to which I hope the Minister will agree. I cannot let Senator Sean D. Barrett away without referring to his remarks about the television licence for people who did not have a television, which he said was like everybody who did not have a dog having to pay for a dog licence. The difference is that one cannot take the mutt for a virtual walk with one's iPad or iPhone. The generation coming after Senator Sean D. Barrett and me get their public service content from smart phones and smart tablets and platforms other than the traditional television set in the corner of the room. Therefore, it comes down to whether we believe there is any particular value in maintaining public service broadcasting. If there is such a value and people access this broadcasting through means other than the traditional television set in the corner of the room, it seems they should be required to pay for it. A non-dog owner cannot resort to his iPhone on a Sunday evening and take the mutt for a virtual walk.

The postcodes issue was raised by Senators Sean D. Barrett, Feargal Quinn, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and others. I can confirm that I put the implementation of a postcode system out to final tender last week. Obviously, I cannot go into financial considerations for very obvious reasons. The bidders will return their tenders by the end of the month and we will evaluate them in August. I will bring a recommendation to the Government in September. The Senators should not rely on the figures about which they have read in the newspapers. They did not come from me and I am happy that the CBA that will accompany the postcodes will show that there is considerable advantage to the State, not just for businesses connected with logistics and other areas but also for public service agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which need this information. The services will be more efficient and delivery will be cheaper in the long run. We can have a separate discussion about that issue at some time, but as it is at the tender stage, I do not want to go into detail.

I accept what Senator Jimmy Harte has said. We opened a new post office in Letterkenny recently. The protocol on closures is working quite well. Senator Darragh O'Brien asked whether we had a plan. We do. We are in an environment that is changing significantly. Many of the stakeholders have already put their views into the public domain, like the Irish Postmasters Union. The Department has had NewERA carrying out an assessment of An Post today, while the board and management of An Post will have the basis of a five year plan with us in a few months. That five year plan will have to look at some of the more central issues raised in the debate this afternoon. The brand is trusted and plays an important role in Irish society, but there are major challenges in the way things have changed. We have to take this on board.

I am a rebel in the Government on the State savings issue.

I have made my view known that I did not agree with the change. However, like so many matters, one has to see it in the round. The plight of the banks and the prospect of the losing significant savings to the post office because of a perceived superior interest rate could have potentially added to the difficulties the banks have rectifying their own internal ratios. It has been a big success for the post office. The decision was made by the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, which reports directly to the Minister for Finance. Accordingly, it is a matter for him.

It also shows there is still a few bob in the country. It would be marvellous if our citizens would take some of that few bob out of the post office and spend it on the high street.