Post Office Network

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2015

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Questions (71)

Tom Fleming

Question:

71. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will expedite and implement the recommendations in the report of the post office business development group, chaired by Mr. Bobby Kerr; if he will support, in conjunction with this, the maintenance of social protection payments, the provision of new public services, basic banking and the roll-out of new commercial and financial products delivered through the post office network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39241/15]

Oral answers (6 contributions)

Deputy Tom Fleming

I ask the Minister if he will expedite and implement the recommendations in the report of the post office business development group, chaired by Mr. Bobby Kerr, and if he will support, in conjunction with the report, the maintenance of social protection payments, the provision of new public services, basic banking and the roll-out of new commercial and financial products delivered through the post office network. I am sure my colleagues will join me in wishing Bobby Kerr a speedy recovery following his recent illness.

Deputy Alex White

I am sure we all join Deputy Tom Fleming in wishing Mr. Bobby Kerr a speedy recovery. Mr. Kerr has been doing terrific work for us on this agenda.

The post office network business development group, the remit of which is to examine the potential from existing and new Government and commercial business that could be transacted through the post office network, presented its initial report to me in May 2015. In summary, the initial report outlined that the future of the post office network would be best secured by seeking out opportunities in the following areas: financial services, including services delivered by the Department of Social Protection, and basic banking for the unbanked; Government services; social capital and enterprise; and white labelling of financial and other products.

To gain further insight into these areas, a public consultation exercise was held from 16 June to 28 July last, inclusive. Interested parties were invited to submit their views on the initial report. It is clear from the responses received that there is a strong public desire to maintain the nationwide network of post offices. The consultation responses are assisting the group in identifying opportunities that can benefit the post office network and will inform the final report, which I expect to receive presently.

It is premature to speculate, in advance of receiving the final report, on future products and services and on what the next steps will be until I have had the opportunity to consider in detail the findings of the group.

Deputy Tom Fleming

I believe there is a certain amount of procrastination. There is significant delay in the publishing of this report. I cannot see how it is taking such a long time to come up with it. As the Minister stated, the public consultation was completed a long time ago. There are evident vital proposals that could be quite simply implemented.

The Grant Thornton report published by the Irish Postmasters' Union identified motor tax as the number one item that could be made available through our post office network. Another was the extension of banking services. All we have heard during recent months has been negativity - for example, the utterances of the Minister for Social Protection about giving priority to banks by paying social welfare benefits into recipients' bank accounts. It was a drastic action by the Minister. Although we hear that the Government has the will to retain and promote the post offices, nothing we have heard over recent weeks has been very positive.

Deputy Alex White

The Deputy should wait for the report and see how positive it is. I am confident that it will be positive. The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection and her Department have a positive attitude to post offices. Social welfare payments comprise a critical component of post office business, irrespective of the size of a particular post office, and support a cross-selling model, especially regarding bill payment. Social protection payments are and will remain a critical element of the work done by the post offices. I hope the Deputy is aware that the interim report was published earlier this year. The final report is the one to which the Deputy refers, and it will be published in the coming weeks. Although I must receive the report, consider it and bring it to the Cabinet, there will be no undue delay. The consultation process to which the Deputy referred finished at the end of July. An enormous amount of work is going into the report so that we get it right this time. We know An Post is widely supported by the Irish people and by communities, and we want to ensure that it thrives into the future. That is what the report will be about.

Deputy Tom Fleming

There is much uncertainty in rural areas due to a number of negative factors, such as the closure of our Garda stations and the downgrading of what were vital hubs of rural Ireland. People have no confidence in the Government giving out a strong message of support. There are 1,100 post offices in the network, which are the only retail units in some communities. Given our lack of rural security, postmen and women are like watchdogs, and the local post office is a meeting place for people and a place of communication with the outside world. In many cases, it is the only one.

Deputy Alex White

The Government and I strongly support the maintenance of a post office network across the country. The report, which I will shortly receive and publish, will demonstrate this. The Government's response to the report will demonstrate its commitment to the maintenance of a post office network service right across the country which is viable, remains at the heart of communities and supplies services that people want to avail of. This is the job we need to do, which I am doing, as the House would expect. Once we receive the report and the Government has dealt with it, we will have an opportunity to debate it here.