John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the discussions that have taken place with An Post or its workforce with a view to expanding the scale and volume of services to An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28077/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the discussions that have taken place with An Post or its workforce with a view to expanding the scale and volume of services to An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28101/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 230 together.

The Government and the board of An Post are committed to the objective of securing a viable and sustainable post office and nationwide post office network as set out in the programme for Government. Notwithstanding the commercial remit of An Post, there is clear Government recognition of the social benefits of maintaining the nationwide post office network. Accordingly, An Post development strategies for the network continue to take full account of these social benefits.

As a commercial company, the development and growth of An Post's business is a matter for the company's management and board. The challenge ahead for An Post is to develop a strategy that satisfies the needs of existing customers, while attracting new customers into the post office. An Post has already had some success in winning new business and continues to benefit from a considerable amount of Government business, especially in the areas of social welfare payments and savings products. While the Government will support the network in any way it can and has demonstrated its commitment with a €12.7 million capital injection in 2003, the way forward is for An Post to enhance existing services and, building on existing strengths to develop new product offerings.

I have also asked the company to ensure any strategy for the development of the company should ensure the long-term viability of the post office network. An Post is working on a new initiative which could see the development and expansion of the range of financial services that it can deliver through its network of post offices. If successful, it could lead to a significant increase in post office business and contribute to the viability of the network.

On foot of substantial investment in computerisation, a significant amount of extra business has already been obtained for the network in terms of banking and utility business. At present 95% of An Post's business is conducted through automated offices. In order to gauge the impact of automation on business generation, I have asked the company to initiate a pilot project to automate ten small post offices. This project is under way and the results of the project will be evaluated after the trial period has come to an end. An Post also enjoys a strong relationship with sections of the population that have no bank accounts, including many social welfare clients. With the roll-out of e-Government services, the post office is ideally placed to capitalise on opportunities arising in this space, especially in the area of e-payments.