Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his views on the social dimension of the post office network; and if he will grant a subsidy for the computerisation of the smaller post offices along with a subvention for offices in locations in which the population is insufficient to attract and retain the postmaster. [26834/04]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is committed to a viable and sustainable rural post office network. However, consideration must be given to the climate in which An Post is operating while bearing in mind the serious operational losses the company has suffered and the measures which must be implemented if it is to achieve its target of profitability. The Government has already provided an equity injection of €12.7 million to An Post to facilitate the modernisation of the post office network. The equity injection was paid to the company in 2003 and, with this in mind, the Government is not considering providing a subsidy or subvention towards the post office network.

The company's programme of automation for certain post offices was completed in 1997 and it is, therefore, only in very exceptional circumstances that offices are automated today. Such circumstances might consist of an existing automated office closing and its equipment being transferred to a suitable neighbouring location which transacts significant volumes of welfare business. The automated network accounts for over 95% of An Post's counter business. This level of automated coverage is considered by An Post to be extremely comprehensive by any objective standard. It is the company's view that there has never been a justifiable customer service or economic argument to support the extension of automation to all offices, regardless of their location or business volumes. Given the minimal business volumes and small customer base of the remaining non-automated post offices and the prohibitively high costs, both capital and ongoing, of automating them, An Post advises me that it has no plans to increase the number of automated offices. That decision is entirely a commercial operational matter for the company.