Successive Governments and this one most notably, have consistently stated its commitment to maintaining the post office network as set out in the Programme for Government. It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide customer focused network of post offices in the community. The Department’s support for An Post is equally apparent. We anticipate this year that we will pay over €50m to An Post under a contract for the cash payment services to welfare customers. This contract, which may be extended up to end December 2019, is very substantial in terms of its reach, value and impact.
Increasing the scale by which State payments are delivered directly into a client account is a key objective of a number of Government policies. These include the National Payments Plan, the Department’s Payment Strategy, the Public Sector Reform Plan, the e-Government Strategy and other government policies. These policies support improved customer service, reflect consumer trends and preferences and can deliver administrative savings.
The Department intends to continue to offer many clients the choice of being paid in cash at the post office, directly into an account in a financial institution or by cheque in some instances. It is not proposed to limit the freedom of such clients to be paid directly into a financial institution if they so choose.
Undeniably, this creates a challenge for the current business model of An Post. But this is not the only challenge. Competition in over the counter cash services, changes in technology and customer retail preferences all contribute to that challenge for An Post services.
I understand the post office network stands well positioned to be a front office provider of choice for Government and the financial services sector. These services will be in both electronic transactions as well as the more traditional over the counter transactions. In this context, I am aware of the plans towards the development and roll out of a new transaction account for customers. I look forward to An Post making this available in the not too distant future as an alternative banking opportunity for this Department’s customers and many others.
