Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 October 2004
132 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which he believes postal services can be modernised to ensure the continuation of a modern competitive and effective means of communication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25945/04]
View answer133 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he has in mind other services which An Post can provide by way of complement to existing services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25946/04]
View answer134 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his vision for the future of postal services here with particular reference to the need to provide the service for industry and the domestic sector in keeping with modern requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25959/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 132 to 134, inclusive, together.
The postal market has changed significantly in recent years with liberalisation of the European postal market and with postal operators moving from national into international markets. This has impacted on this country with partial liberalisation of the postal market on foot of EU directives and with the presence of a number of international operators in the market.
The parcels market in Ireland is now fully liberalised and operators are providing high quality services. The market includes some of the biggest postal operators in the world providing international reach to Irish business. Our strong economic fundamentals and multinational presence make Ireland attractive for the big logistics firms. The competitive nature of the market with many local and international operators provides a range of services which largely meet consumer and business needs. The letters market has been partially liberalised with outbound international mail fully liberalised since the beginning of 2004 and the possibility of full liberalisation of the letters market by 2009. Strong international players operating in the parcels sector are likely to look for opportunities in the letterpost area.
There is no doubt that the postal market is facing several challenges in particular from modern electronic communication media such as email. However, the postal sector, including An Post, is adapting to meet this challenge by diversifying its services to meet the demands of consumers. An Post is a commercial State body and I have no role in determining new services which it may wish to provide. The company is working towards becoming a more competitive, consumer-orientated player, providing a range of services to meet customer needs. However, the most important issue facing An Post is returning the company to financial stability. I have asked the company to examine improving quality of service which will be the key to determining customer loyalty in the future as the market is opened to further competition.
Furthermore, An Post constantly looks at opportunities to improve its product offerings in the mails area and this will assume greater importance in the future. Postal services will be delivered by high-end postal operators with a clear strategic focus on market positioning and services orientated to customer needs. Postal operators will need to operate a flexible mandate identifying growth areas in the sector with a clear strategy for retaining existing business.
