Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A number of issues have been raised. I will deal with the most significant one first, which was raised by Senator Boyhan. I echo what Senator Lombard said. There is no realisation here of the issue with which we are actually dealing. Senator Leyden also raised a number of issues, which I will come to in a minute. If these amendments are accepted here today, our debate is pointless. We have explained to the spokespersons how significant and imperative it is that this legislation goes through. If these amendments, which were withdrawn in the Lower House on the basis of the arguments I have put forward, were to be accepted, I would have to go back to Government because there would be a significant policy change involved.

We are talking about introducing a universal service obligation in the parcel sector, which is a very competitive sector. It is the most competitive and growing sector in the postal division in the country and right across the world. It is extremely competitive so I do not see why we should regulate a system that is working quite well. I have not seen the failure or heard an argument from anyone in the Lower House or here about how the system is failing at the moment. I do not see the logic behind putting forward an amendment to interfere in a system that is already working. Let me be crystal clear. It is up to the House to decide on this amendment but if it is carried, I will be asking each one of the Senators to go back to their communities and explain why the five-day postal service is no longer available to them as a result of the delay in this legislation. This is about protecting the service we have at the moment. I made it crystal clear when I brought this issue to the attention of Government at the time of the publication of the legislation, on Second Stage in the Lower House and here, the reason it is of critical importance that it is enacted swiftly. That is why I have taken the step I have taken to remove ComReg from this process.

Coming back to Senator Leyden's question, the decision to have ComReg regulate this was taken in 2011. That is when the power over pricing was taken away from the Minister. ComReg has been involved in it and it has increased the price of the stamp. The difficulty is that those price increases do not reflect the current financial situation the company. It requires a significant increase in the price of the stamp. I do not know what that figure is at this stage. Senator Leyden was Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs so he knows that part of the reason the company did not take the opportunities it should have taken in the past was ministerial interference. The Minister has the power to appoint members to the board of all of these semi-State companies and we now have a system in place through PAS so we can have people of ability appointed to those boards who can actually add to them. We had some very good people and we had some mediocre people on boards in the past. Since the new system was introduced, we have had excellent applications from people. I say in particular to my county colleague, Senator Leyden, that we want people of ability who are willing to serve on State boards, in particular people from outside the Dublin region and very capable women. There are many of them out there who are well able to sit on and contribute to boards. I want to see far more women actively participating on boards. I appeal to anyone who has any interest in this area to make an application through the PAS system to sit on State boards under my jurisdiction or that of other Ministers.

Senator Leyden is right that increasing the price of the stamp will have an impact on the number of stamps that are purchased. There is an issue of elasticity there. It is something I am very conscious of and I have asked the company specific questions about it. I am satisfied that the income and moneys required by the company can be brought in even with this change in the legislation.

I also read the article about the 80 post offices this morning. Discussions are ongoing between the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Irish Postmasters Union and An Post on a way forward for the post office network. The post office network as a whole is making a profit. There may be aspects of it that need to be improved but, as a whole, it is making a profit. The difficulty is that the mail service is haemorrhaging funds at the moment and we need to take immediate action on it. That is why this legislation is so urgent. The company hoped this legislation would have been enacted at this stage and it has expressed concerns regarding it. I hope that with the co-operation of the House, we can pass this legislation today. If there are amendments to it, we will have to go back to the drawing board and it will be the responsibility of Members of the House to explain to the staff and communities around the country why there is a significant threat to the five-day postal service.