I propose to take Questions Nos. 74, 77, 113, 115 and 155 together.
The Government and the board of An Post are committed to the objective of securing a viable and sustainable rural post office network as set out in the programme for Government. An expression of that commitment is the Government's approval of an equity injection of €12.7 million for An Post to facilitate the modernisation of post offices. The equity injection was paid to the company in 2003 and has helped drive the ongoing modernisation of the network. It may be useful, at this stage, to illustrate the current strength of the network in that there are 1,000 automated post offices, 475 non-automated post offices, 160 postal agencies and An Post has established 3,000 postpoint outlets in retail premises of which 600 can be used for bill payment.
There is widespread recognition that the best strategy to sustain the network is for An Post to continue adapting to its customer needs within the financial constraints in which it now finds itself. The future of the post office network has been subject to a number of studies and reviews in recent years and many of the recommendations made have been implemented. The post office network at present has a high volume of people passing through the premises, a recognised brand name and a countrywide retail network. The priority for all stakeholders is to maintain and increase the amount of business being done through the network in order to secure its future. In addition, the post office network is geared to future opportunities with the majority of offices now computerised and already computerisation has brought benefits with increased technology-dependent financial business.
As part of the development strategy, An Post has secured additional business for the network, including bill pay facilities for the ESB, phone top-ups through their postpoint service and a contract with the AIB under which the bank's customers can access their accounts through the network. Further opportunities from both the public and private sectors are being actively explored by the company with a view to bringing on stream additional services at the post office counter, where possible.
The main business developments in 2004 in relation to the post network include the collection of payments for Garda fines, Barclaycard credit card payments, Tele 2 bill payments and the sale of Dublin City Council commercial bin tags. In addition, a number of additional lines of new business are currently actively under discussion or consideration.
The post office enjoys a strong relationship with the sections of the population who are currently unbanked, including social welfare clients. With the rollout of eGovernment services, the post office network is ideally placed to capitalise on opportunities arising in this space, especially in the area of e-payments.
Parallel with these developments and under an agreement between the Irish Postmasters Union and An Post, the conversion of sub-post offices from a fixed contract to an agency basis, whereby payments are linked to transactions, is being implemented on a voluntary basis. The key requirement, that a service is provided locally, is being met by the new agency.
The long-term future of the post office can only be secured by meeting the demands of customers. In this regard I have asked the Irish Postmasters Union and An Post to work in partnership with a view to securing existing business and to pursue new business opportunities as they arise. As outlined above, that strategy is being followed with some success by the company.
The overarching objective going forward continues to be the retention of post offices services, in as many locations as possible, in the manner which best meets consumer needs whether services are provided via post offices, postal agencies or the postpoint network.