Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for raising this issue. It is a very pertinent issue and one I can relate to, being from County Mayo. I am aware of the importance of the post office in any town. I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter today on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers.

An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially. As such, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions in relation to the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and the management of the company, and not ones in which the Minister or Minister of State has a statutory function. However, the Minister and Minister of State are both very aware of the impact that decisions relating to changes in An Post operations have on communities and individuals in both rural and urban areas. The Department will engage with An Post to outline and highlight the concerns which have been raised by staff, customers and the wider community.

As the Senators have both outlined, this is an iconic building in Roscommon town, and I know how important it is to the people of Roscommon and the wider area. As they have alluded to, in line with its ongoing transformation, An Post announced last week that it proposes converting six post offices from An Post-run to contractor-run, one of which is the Roscommon town office.Fewer than 40 post offices of a total of more than 900 across the State are now run directly by An Post. An Post has outlined that the change in business model of the six offices will not in any way change the range or extent of the services offered by An Post in those selected locations and the company remains committed to providing each area with the highest standard of services for the future. An Post has advised that staff employed at the post offices in question will have options, including taking up the employment as the new postmaster or being redeployed within the network.

The Government's objectives for the An Post network include harnessing the opportunities presented by e-commerce and the digital economy and delivering a sustainable nationwide post office network at the heart of communities, offering a range of e-commerce, financial and Government services. The Government agreed that an amount of €10 million per annum will be provided by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications over a three-year fixed term to support the postmasters, with funding to be disbursed across the post office network. The funding is being paid monthly for each 12-month period. Over €9.7 million has been claimed by An Post for 2023 for the postmaster network.

The programme for Government recognises that a modernised post office network will provide a better range of financial and e-commerce services for citizens and enterprise as part of its commitment to a sustainable nationwide post office network. The overall €30 million in funding being provided to support a sustainable nationwide post office network is in line with this commitment. That commitment is valid. It is good the modernise the post office system but, in saying that, I do appreciate the concerns regarding this particular building and moving the post office out of it.