Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Before I start my reply, the answer is "No".

I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on the matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers. Both the Minister and Minister of State are very aware of the impact of decisions relating to changes in An Post operations have on communities and individuals in both rural and urban areas.

An Post is a commercial State company. It has a mandate to act commercially and, 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 either the Minister or Minister of State has a statutory function. The Minister has responsibility for the postal sector, including the governance oversight of An Post to ensure that the company is compliant with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, and the governance functions included in the statutory framework underpinning An Post.

In line with its ongoing transformation, An Post has announced that it is converting six post offices from An Post-operated to contractor-operated and one of these is the Rathmines office. That post office will join the mainstream of national post offices in that more than 90% of the country's 900 post offices are operated by contractors. It should be noted that fewer than 40 post offices throughout the State are run directly by An Post.

In accordance with section 8.22 of the code of practice, all State bodies are required to seek the approval of the relevant Minister and the Minister of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform in advance of any material acquisition or disposal of land, buildings or other material assets proposed by a State body. An Post is aware of the requirement for compliance with the code of practice and An Post has not submitted any consent request to the Minister regarding the Rathmines post office premises. An Post has indicated that the change in business model of the six offices will not in any way alter the range or extent of services offered by An Post in these locations.

An Post has over the past number of years been transforming its business by delivering new products and new formats in the way it operates and this includes, among other things, diversifying and growing the financial services products it provides for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, to include loans, credit cards, more foreign exchange products, local banking in association with the major banks, and a full range of State savings products. An Post is providing agency banking services for AIB and for Bank of Ireland across its network of post offices.

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, 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 period to support the postmasters with funding to be dispersed across the post office network. Funding is being paid monthly for each 12-month period and more than €12.2 million has been claimed by and post to the end of March 2024 for the postmaster network.

The programme for Government recognises that a modernised post office network will provide a better range of financial services and e-commerce services for its citizens and enterprise as part of our commitment to a sustainable, nationwide post office network. The overall €30 million in funding that is being provided to support a sustainable post office network is in line with this commitment.