Nicky McFadden (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 490: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the universal service obligation of An Post; the length of time for which this obligation will apply; and his views on the importance of An Post as a postal operator. [23526/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The recently enacted Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act, 2011, designates An Post as the universal postal service provider in the newly liberalised postal services market.

This designation, which is for a period of twelve years, will be reviewed by ComReg to decide whether the designation of An Post after the expiry of the first seven years should continue for the remainder of the twelve years, whether other postal operators should be designated or that no designation is required in order to fulfil the universal service obligation. Designation requires An Post to provide a minimum level of postal service throughout the State, the essential element of which is the collection and delivery of mail to every address on every working day. The Government's core policy goal for the postal sector is to ensure that Irish customers, both business and residential, enjoy competitively priced, high quality postal services.

An Post is an important postal service provider and has served the State well to date. However, the postal sector globally is facing challenges – not least from liberalisation and competition, but also the ongoing effect of the recession and the impact of electronic substitution and this has implications for how postal service providers, including An Post, must position themselves. Flexibility is required and a focus on innovation to meet the evolving needs of users, particularly business users, to maximise the "value added" by post to their customers.

I know that An Post has many genuine strengths such as its dedicated workforce, its trusted brand and its strong visible presence in every community in Ireland on every working day of the year - a presence that very few, if any, competitors will be in a position to replicate. An Post and its staff must play to these strengths and ensure that its resources are aligned with the needs of its users. To do so will involve significant change and I understand that this is already underway.