I thank the committee and its officials for deferring the meeting for half an hour to facilitate me. I greatly appreciate this.
I bring before the committee a motion seeking Dáil approval for the sixth additional protocol to the constitution of the Universal Postal Union and amendments to the basic Acts consisting of the general regulations of the Universal Postal Union and the Universal Postal Convention, as well as the postal payment services agreement. On the advice of the Attorney General, the motion is necessary under Article 29.5.2o of the Constitution which requires that Dáil Éireann approve the terms of international agreements involving a charge on public funds. Following approval of the motion the Minister for Foreign Affairs will arrange for ratification of the sixth additional protocol and approval by Ireland of the other Acts.
I start by providing some background information on the Universal Postal Union that may prove useful. The Universal Postal Union, UPU, a specialised agency of the United Nations since 1948, is the body governing international postal services. Ireland became a member in 1923. The basic Act of the union is its constitution which was adopted in 1964 and to which an amendment can only be made at Congress, its supreme body, by means of additional protocols.
At the last UPU Congress in Beijing in 1999 the Irish delegation signed, pending approval by the Government and the Dáil, the sixth protocol and other Acts. In addition to the UPU constitution, the other Acts which are binding on members are the general regulations that set out various international rules of procedure and the Universal Postal Convention containing common rules applicable to the international postal service. Ireland also signed a postal payments services agreement which was optional and enabled fund transfer via electronic networks.
I shall provide the committee with some relevant information on the four Acts and the key amendments to their text. I will start with the sixth additional protocol to the constitution of the UPU. The main change brought about by the protocol was to allow the Postal Operators Council which represents the interests of postal operators greater autonomy to revise operational rules between Congresses in order to improve the effectiveness of the international postal service. In addition, this will allow the UPU Congress to focus more specifically on postal policy.
The general regulations outline in detail the functions of the four elements of the UPU structure - the post of director general, the two elected bodies - the council of administration and the postal operations council - and the international bureau or permanent secretariat. The principle amendment to this Act concerns the union's annual budget. Expenditure ceilings for 2000 were set at €24.2 million approximately and €24.5 million per annum for the years 2001-04. As an UN agency, the UPU observes the principle of zero nominal growth in preparing budgets.
With regard to the universal convention on the final protocol which sets out the framework for the exchange of international letters and parcel mail between member countries, among the many revisions to the text at Beijing the following are of note. The universal service principle was enshrined in the Acts with long-term benefits expected to accrue in terms of a greater degree of harmonisation globally, both in the basic postal services provided and in the relevant quality standards which must be met. Each country is obliged to have adequate security arrangements in place for mail processing. Rules on the conveyance of radioactive substances were streamlined.
In regard to terminal dues, the system used to compensate a country's postal administration for the delivery of letters from abroad has been restructured. In global terms, the group of 30 countries classified as industrialised by the United Nations adopted a system linked to the cost of the domestic tariff in the country of destination. Furthermore, from 2005 compensation payable will be linked to quality of service. The other 59 members operating in the developing economies continue to use a flat rate system which is far less onerous financially.
The provision of an alternative option to access the domestic service of another country is an integral part of terminal dues reform. In practice, this means that a customer may opt to be treated in the same manner as a domestic customer in terms of discounts in the country of destination, that is, the discounts provided for domestic bulk mailers. A 7.5% levy on terminal dues payments by industrialised to developing countries was introduced. It funds quality of service projects in developing countries and is administered by an independent board of trustees.
The parcel post provisions have been transferred from the former parcel post agreement to the convention, the effect of which is to make the provisions mandatory in all countries which were signatories of the agreement, including Ireland. The maximum weight of parcels was raised from ten to 20 kilograms. Increasing the maximum weight to 20 kilograms facilitates the creation of a better customer service on the international stage. The compensation available under the terminal dues system is not affected by the rerouting of mail through developing countries.
New provisions were made to the postal payments services agreement which covers the international transfer of postal funds using UPU financial products such as money orders, giro accounts, postal cheques and cash-on-delivery services. The new provisions make possible the electronic transfer of funds and the establishment of new links with non-postal networks such as the banking industry, for example. Unlike the Acts mentioned, this agreement is not mandatory. Although a signatory, Ireland does not rely on these provisions to operate international financial services. For example, as we are all aware, An Post prefers to regulate its international financial services using bilateral and multilateral arrangements.
I ask Deputies to support the ratification of the sixth protocol and approve the Acts. The Acts of the 1999 Beijing Congress streamline the structures and procedures of the UPU, improving international mail handling arrangements and enhancing quality of service for its customers.