David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is the first opportunity I have had to offer my best wishes to former Senator Jimmy Harte who has retired. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I wish him continued success in his recovery. We all hope he will recover fully. It was untimely and dreadful that his time in the Seanad was cut short. He was a very able Senator and we had many exchanges across the floor, as Members know, but we were always very fond of him as a Senator who represented a constituency that needed strong representation. I wish him the very best and continued success in his retirment. It is important also, regardless of whether it is a farce, as it has been described by some in the Chamber, that there be a Seanad by-election.There may be a number of candidates from different groupings and I wish all of them the very best. I acknowledge that Fianna Fáil will also put up a candidate. All elections should be contested and I wish all the candidates in that election the very best.

I welcome the suspension of the strike action by the Communication Workers Union regarding An Post and IO Systems. We now have some breathing space for negotiations that are taking place as we speak. Some fundamental issues have been raised. IO Systems first got a three-year contract in 2003. Pay reductions were introduced in January 2011, which followed a Labour Court finding. Both sides agreed to this and it was binding. The most recent contract was signed in September 2013 and following that, further pay cuts were sought by IO Systems. Talks between IO Systems, the Communication Workers Union and the LRC failed to reach agreement. IO Systems proceeded anyway and introduced its so-called new pay and roster arrangements which meant a cut in pay for some staff. As we know, this resulted in strike action on 1 October.

What is interesting and very worrying is that we almost had the complete closure of the entire postal service in the State. How did that happen? The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy White, told the Dáil last Thursday that An Post had a contingency plan to deal with any dispute. According to the Communication Workers Union, that contingency plan included closing the entire service. Was the Minister aware that the contingency plan included closing the service? Did he give the nod to that? These questions need to be answered. If he was not aware of that, it surely raises questions about senior management in An Post failing to give information to the Minister when he made his statement to the Dáil. Irrespective of those questions that the Minister needs to answer, I hope the negotiations result in agreement on the substantive issues.

I ask the Leader to raise those questions with the Minister. If he is not in a position to do that, the Minister should come to the House to answer the questions that should be put by the Opposition and there are genuine questions from our perspective.