Vol. 521 No. 4
9 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the implications for the postal services following the recently announced European Commission proposed measure to open up a substantial share of the postal services market to competition by 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17336/00]
27 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the action she proposes to take following the recently announced European Commission proposed measure to open up a substantial share of the postal services market to competition by 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17306/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 27 together.
In the coming weeks I will closely examine the recently announced European Commission proposals for further liberalisation of the postal market with the overarching objective of ensuring the Cabinet's concerns in this area are satisfactorily met.
These concerns are threefold. The Government wants Irish industry and consumers to benefit from competitively priced, high quality postal services; the nationwide postal service and network with a uniform tariff applying throughout the State must be maintained; and the Irish postal sector must develop in such a way that it will underpin the key economic objective of Ireland becoming a global e-commerce hub.
I intend to ensure our concerns are fully addressed in the new measures.
I thank the Minister for her reply. I particularly welcome the fact that, irrespective of whether privatisation is introduced, the postal service will continue. Given the Minister's earlier comments about the introduction of competition and the necessity in such circumstances to introduce privatisation, has she any plans to privatise An Post or any part of it to ensure, according to her earlier argument, effective competition?
I have no plan to privatise An Post. It reaches into every corner of Ireland.
So does CIE.
I am not talking about CIE, the Deputy asked me a question about An Post which reaches into every parish. Yesterday's newspapers carried a further announcement of major branch closures throughout the country, which I very much regret. The Cabinet has taken an informal Government decision to seek meetings with the banks to ascertain how some of the services they are abrogating in favour of moving to more central locations can be transferred to the post office network. That Government decision was taken last week. The first meeting on this matter will be held this week. I regard that as very important and I regret the banks are implementing a branch closure policy. I note that Barclays Bank and Royal Mail are coming to an amicable conclusion in similar talks.
Given the Minister's populist answer that she does not propose to privatise any part of An Post because it might affect her electorally – that is my interpretation of what she meant when she said she does not intend to privatise An Post because it reaches into every part of the country – how does she propose to maintain competition in that market without immediately closing a large numbers of local post offices, or does she intend to subsidise local post offices in a privatised or competitive market to ensure effective competition?
That is a fair question. My reply was not given on populist grounds.
The Minister would not do that.
It was given on factual grounds. There is a post office at practically every halt on the road, there is certainly one in every parish. I have insisted, as did the previous Government, on maintaining those local post offices. In circumstances where a postmistress or postmaster retires and a suitable person does not comes forward to run the post office – as happened recently despite three advertisements for the position – nothing can be done to prevent the closure of such a post office.
The Deputy's question is interesting. There appears to be universal support inside and outside the House for maintaining the network of post offices, and post offices in large urban areas are viable. We cannot, however, have that aspiration and demand that local post offices operate within the post office budget.
The time allocated for this question is exhausted.
Last year, for the first time, the counter transactions of post offices broke even.
When is it is proposed to introduce competition? How does the Minister propose to insist that couriers who have been cherrypicking the service until now will be required to deliver to Kerry and Kildare at the same price?
Clearly when we go into the liberalisation agenda for postal services which is what is envisaged by this announcement from Europe for 2003—
Does the Minister support the announcement?
No. We did not get it in Europe. Neither has there been a draft directive nor has COREPER entered into any discussions because it will not come into force until 2003. Clearly the universal service obligation will have to be applicable because people cannot take the best routes and leave the unprofitable routes to others. On the whole question of postal services, some of which I hope will be encompassed in the talks with the banks, there is a need for the Government to look at putting flesh on its aspiration to keep the rural network open. In that regard some hard decisions will have to made by Government which I hope, will be helpful.
Is the Minister saying she cannot square the two aspects – keeping rural post offices open and the postal service operating on a competitive commercial basis? The local post offices cannot operate in that area and will be forced to close.
No. Many of them have sufficient business to be viable. Some, not through their own fault but, because of their geographic location do not have the business at their fingertips to be utilised. Therefore, it is my belief that in a short period the Government of the day, whether this Government or the next, will need to look at the position fully and say that is the aspiration, that is what we want to see around rural Ireland – and it is contained in the rural White Paper – and put its money where its mouth is.
The rot has set in with the closure of the local school, the closure of Garda barracks, banks pulling out of rural areas, the threat that there will not be priests for churches in rural areas. The Minister now says the post offices will be under threat from this EU directive.
That is not what I am saying.
What proposal has the Minister to counteract all of that?
The Deputy is refusing to admit what I am saying. While I am Minister and while this Government is in office – if the Deputy's party was in office it would be the same – it stands over the rural post office network. It has been said by all Governments but it is coming to the point that within a period of 12 months or even shorter, where either this Government or the next will have to say its aspiration is the rural network. Given that competition is coming, the question is how can we square the continuation of the rural network of post offices when because of their geographic location business is not available to them? How do we continue to maintain the rural post office network and give flesh to that aspiration? In that regard it is up to me to start to lay the groundwork before 2003 when full competition will be in force.
I am disappointed at the Minister's reply. She must recognise that all citizens in Ireland, no matter where they live, must be treated equally. We cannot all live in Ballsbridge. The post office in Ballsbridge, Ballydehob, south west Cork or in Crookhaven is important to the person concerned. If the Minister is to put her words into practice she must give a guarantee that every citizen will be cherished equally and that irrespective of how remote, the posts offices should be subsidised and kept open. The same applies to Garda stations.
I have explained three times that the Government has made a commitment, as did the Government of which the Deputy was a member but it was not faced with the EU 2003 postal directive. Whatever Government is in office in 2003 will have to deal with it.
Does the Minister support the directive?
No, because it never came to me. I stand squarely over the continuation of the rural post office network. That will be my advice to Cabinet. So long as I am in this job that will not only be my aspiration but my stated position.
