Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 May 2021
55. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress his Department has made on addressing the actions relevant to his areas of responsibility outlined in the Private Members’ Motion on the post office network on 16 November 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25161/21]
View answerAn Post is a commercial State body with a mandate to act commercially. It has statutory responsibility for the State’s postal service and the post office network. Decisions relating to the network, including those in relation to the size, distribution and future of the network are operational matters for the Board and management of the company.
Since the November 2016 Private Members' motion referred to by the Deputy was debated, a lot of work has been done to ensure An Post and the post office network remain viable.
An Post put in place a Strategic Plan, covering the period 2017 – 2021, in response to the structural challenges faced by the postal sector. As part of the delivery of the plan the company was split into two distinct business units, An Post Mails and Parcels and An Post Retail.
An Post is transforming its retail network by delivering new products and new formats. This includes, among other things, diversifying and growing the financial services products it provides for individuals and SMEs to include loans, credit cards and more foreign exchange products, local banking in association with the major banks and a full range of State Savings products. Two new dedicated sub-brands, An Post Money and a new business-to-business brand, An Post Commerce, were launched. Investment by An Post of €50 million in the network is designed to encourage communities to use the enhanced services in their local post office.
An Post has also launched its Green Hub, a facility providing end-to-end project management and financial advice for all levels of home retro-fitting which will be supported by competitive loan rates. The Green Hub is essentially a one-stop-shop which will cover loan-only or full retro-fit services, from initial home assessments to completed works and an SEAI grant application and payment process. An Post has partnered with SSE Airtricity to give free home assessments and the fulfilment of works.
Government efforts have been focussed on supporting An Post in the roll out of new services and the delivery of its strategic plan. €30m in State funding was made available, of which €15 million is to support the renewal of the post office network and a further €15 million towards the continued fulfilment of a five-day per week mail delivery service. This helps secure the future of mail and post office services for local communities throughout the country in both rural and urban areas.
An Post has received an investment loan of €40m from the European Investment Bank to finance innovation and modernisation projects as part of its strategic plan. The borrowing is being used to help fund the capital costs associated with five investment programmes which are part of the Transformation Plan, including Post Office renewal.
Government continues to provide significant business to An Post through the Department of Social Protection’s Social Welfare contract and National Treasury Management Agency business. A Capital Expenditure programme was approved at Ministerial level which, as part of the Company’s commitment to the sustainability of its network, is designed to develop the newer elements of An Post’s Financial Services business and mitigate declining core mail volumes and revenues on the Retail side of the business.
In line with its commercial strategy to increase its banking services, An Post announced a new partnership with Bank of Ireland to offer personal and SME withdrawal and lodgement services to Bank of Ireland customers across the An Post network of over 900 post offices nationwide. This builds on the agency banking services An Post already provides for a number of other leading banks including AIB and Ulster Bank with more than 4.5 million transactions and a cash value of almost €1.5bn annually.
The Government believes An Post has untapped potential to do more and make a further significant contribution across many areas of public, business and community life in Ireland. In that regard, Government recently approved the Report on the Provision of Offline Government Services and the establishment of an Inter-Departmental Group, co-chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to, inter alia, examine the feasibility of directing more Government business to the post office network. The Group has met twice in the past 3 weeks and will report back to Government by the end of July.
Government is committed to delivering services using channels geared to the needs of the public and remains committed to a sustainable Post Office Network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure in both rural and urban areas.
All options will be considered fully and every effort made to give effect to the Government commitment to ensuring a sustainable and viable post office network.
