Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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200. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans, to cease with immediate effect, the practice of issuing letters to welfare recipients, in which they are encouraged to have their payments made directly to a current, deposit or savings account in either a bank or a financial institution; if she is aware that such a practice is detrimental to the survival of the post office network; her plans to retract the information contained in these forms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25063/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am aware of the concerns that have been raised in relation to the letters that issued from my Department.

The letters, which were issued to a small number of customers in receipt of State Pension Contributory and Non Contributory, were a trial to determine the best means of communicating with people about their payment options. Customer engagement was entirely voluntary with no negative consequences for customers who chose not to respond or engage. Customers can ignore the letter and continue to be paid in the manner they are currently receiving their payment if they so wish. All existing payment options remain in place as heretofore. The Department has no plans to issue further letters at this stage.

Increasing the scale by which State payments are delivered directly into a client account is a key objective of a number of Government policies. These include the National Payments Plan, the Department’s Payment Strategy, the Public Sector Reform Plan, the e-Government Strategy and other government policies. These policies support improved customer service, reflect consumer trends and preferences and can deliver administrative savings.

The Government has consistently stated its commitment to maintaining the post office network as set out in the Programme for Government. It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide customer focussed network of post offices in the community. The Department’s support for An Post is equally apparent. We anticipate this year that we will pay over €50 million to An Post under a contract for the cash payment services to welfare customers.