Written answers

Thursday, 29 November 2012

Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

Post Office Network

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to maintain a strong postal service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53266/12]

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the future of An Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53242/12]

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps being taken to support the maintenance of the Post Office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53120/12]

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to secure the future of an Post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53549/12]

Photo of Pat RabbittePat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 45, 49 and 144 together.

As the Deputies will appreciate An Post is a Commercial State body with its own Board and Management. Therefore operational matters are a matter for the Board and management of An Post. These are areas in which I have no statutory function.

Nonetheless, it is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable State company, providing high quality services on a nationwide basis through a network of economically viable post offices.

I firmly believe An Post has many strengths. It is a trusted brand and it also has the largest retail presence in the Country. I have impressed on the Company the need to further exploit its unique position in this regard and have been supportive of its attempts to diversify its income streams and to win a wider range of commercial contracts offering higher margins.

However, the reality is that the core mail business has suffered a major fall and this has impacted seriously on the Company’s revenue flow. In response, the Company is proactively seeking to keep costs down and diversify its business. Control of costs must, in particular, be rigorously pursued by the Company in light of the continuing drain on revenue arising from the core mails business. It is incumbent that it remains in a financially sustainable position.

As regards diversification, An Post announced that following the decision of AIB to close a number of branches, an extended range of AIB services will be available through Post Offices in the locality of the closures. This is beneficial not only to An Post as a commercial body but also to the local communities.

Furthermore, in May this year I welcomed the arrangement between An Post One Direct and Aviva which saw 23 Aviva insurance branches become One Direct Outlets. This not only secured some of the jobs that were at risk due to Aviva's restructuring but it broadened An Post's portfolio of financial services offering to customers.

In the context of the public sector reform and service delivery agenda, I continue to engage with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and other Ministers in relation to consideration, as appropriate, of the post office network for transactional elements of the business of Government Departments and Agencies. I have stressed to my Government colleagues that the network is ideally configured for over the counter transactions.

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