As Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I am responsible for the postal sector including the governance of An Post. Operational matters relating to the company’s retail business, including the post office network, are matters for the Board and management of An Post. Nonetheless, I am acutely conscious of the value placed by communities in both rural and urban areas on services provided by post offices and am concerned to ensure the needs of those communities continue to be met. Government remains fully committed to a sustainable post office network which is a key piece of economic and social infrastructure for both rural and urban areas. Reflecting its commitment to sustaining a nationwide post office network and daily mails service, the Government recently made €30m available in State funding to An Post to support the renewal of the post office network and the continued fulfilment of a 5 day per week mails delivery service.
Discussions on the future of the post office network are a matter for An Post and the Irish Postmasters Union and I understand negotiations are ongoing between both parties. I have had engagement with both parties and I continue to encourage the parties to work closely to find an agreed solution to the renewal of the network.
I met with the IPU on the 10 April and 5 October 2017 and was interested to hear their perspective on how to renew what continues to be a very valuable resource for both urban and rural communities.