Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 July 2012
15 Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the possibility of making post offices more sustainable by allowing them to provide the facility of motor tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35736/12]
View answer17 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to meet with the Irish Postmasters' Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35514/12]
View answer18 Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on whether rural Ireland is being affected by the withdrawal of services in rural villages in particular by the closing of rural post offices; his plans to prevent the further decline of services for which he is responsible in rural Ireland. [35737/12]
View answer19 Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to support the maintenance of the rural post office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35515/12]
View answer20 Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the proposals put forward in the Grant Thornton report commissioned by the Irish Postmasters’ Union to make motor tax payable at post offices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35735/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 17 to 20, inclusive, together.
As the Deputies will appreciate An Post is a Commercial State body with its own Board and Management.
Operational matters and the sustainability of the post office network are a matter for the Management and Board of An Post. These are areas in which I have no statutory function.
Nonetheless, it is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable State company, providing high quality services on a nationwide basis. In this context, the Government supports the maintenance of the maximum number of economically viable post offices.
As shareholder I do have a strong concern in relation to the ongoing commercial position of the Company and I regularly liaise with the Company in this regard. The reality is that the core mail business has suffered a major fall and this has impacted seriously on the Company's revenue flow. In response the Company is proactively seeking to keep costs down and diversify its business.
An Post has many strengths and has the largest retail presence in the country. I have impressed on the Company the need to further exploit its unique position in this regard and have been supportive of its attempts to diversify its income streams and to win a wider range of commercial contracts offering higher margins.
This strategy is bearing fruit with the enhanced arrangement with AIB and I fully support the Company's strategy in this regard and its recent heads of agreement with Aviva.
I recently met with the Irish Postmasters Union who presented me with a copy of the Grant Thornton report, The future of the Post Office Network in Ireland, which focuses on growing the business to make the network more sustainable. I have read and considered this report and found it both positive and ambitious.
In the context of the public sector reform and service delivery agenda, I will continue to engage with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and other Ministers in relation to consideration, as appropriate, of the post office network for transactional elements of the business of Government Departments and Agencies. I have stressed to my Government colleagues that the network is ideally configured for over the counter transactions.
