I thank Deputies Ahern, Lahart and Crowe, and Deputy Murphy as well, for bringing this matter to the Chamber and raising it with me. The Deputies will already be aware of the statutory structure of An Post. It is an independent commercial State body and makes its decisions in this regard. These decisions are operational in nature. I know Deputies are aware of that. As they have outlined, it is an important issue in their area and they are bringing it to the floor of the Dáil. They are seeking particular engagement with An Post. Coming out of this debate today, I will engage with An Post informing it of the concerns Deputies have raised on the floor of the Dáil as public representatives in the area and ask that the relevant management of An Post meet with them to discuss the matter. Obviously, whenever there is change such as this, it is really important there is engagement with the staff and the unions, which An Post has informed me is ongoing. It is really important that is the case but it is also appropriate in this case that it should meet with the Deputies, who have expressed concerns, to discuss the plan and where it is at and how everyone can be consulted and engaged with and that change is managed in a way that works for everyone. An Post has advised me that it is considering moving the An Post delivery office - not the post office but the delivery office - from Edmondstown, Dublin 16, to a new Dublin west delivery hub later this year. It has noted as well that it is in consultation with its union and staff and that the company will be working hard to ensure local customers are not disadvantaged. This work includes securing local post offices to enable customers to pick up missed mail. As noted, it is a matter for the company directly as opposed to the Government. Neither I nor the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, as the shareholders, are in a position to make these decisions. It is an operational matter for it. An Post has noted that it is consolidating its national network of local sorting offices, also known as delivery service units, DSUs, on the basis that it needs larger and purpose fitted premises to manage increased parcel volumes. It is also in the process of hiring and will be hiring 300 additional postmen and women across the country, some of whom will be working in this area to manage the massive growth that we are seeing in volumes. We are seeing a transformation in relation to postal services. Obviously, the number of letters and how people conduct their lives is changing. It is really important that An Post is in a position to be able to adapt and be at the forefront of that change, particularly being able to accommodate the demand in terms of parcels, online sales and business that is happening, and it has been. It is very much at the forefront of that and is doing a really good job. For it to be able to continue to be a strong company, serving the public of this country into the future, it is really important that we work with it in enabling it to be able to deal with that demand and work with all of its staff in a way that serves the public well. That does mean, I know, that in many parts of the country - I have the same in my county - they are having to change their sorting offices and to consolidate them into delivery and sorting offices which are capable of meeting that increased demand and the increased demand that will be there in the future. There has been a lot of change already in relation to this. I note the issues the Deputies have raised. I will facilitate and ask for a meeting with them. From the point of view of the Government, we want An Post to be strong and, in particular, we want its services to the public, whether in relation to letters or parcels, to be effective. We also want the post office network to be maintained. That is why the Government has increased funding to the post office network from €10 million to €15 million this year to make sure we can maintain a strong post office network in the midst of that change.

Sentiment score: 0.26

The most important engagement here will be between An Post and its staff in relation to the proposal and the management of that, and taking on board any concerns that are there. It is important that that continues and is detailed and respectful of everyone. The Deputies, as public representatives, are raising how this issue will impact on the wider public and the importance of staff engagement. I will request that a meeting be organised with them to discuss these issues further. We all know and accept, I think, that significant change is happening. It is important that An Post is in a position to respond to that, has the capacity to deal with it and is at the forefront of that change to ensure our commercial semi-State body is at the heart of the postal service and commercial delivery in the future, also because it has a public service remit. Considering how the public is served and considering letter delivering capacity, we need to continue to have a good postal letter service in the future. With An Post at the forefront of the online commercial side, it can also make sure that it will be in a position to provide the best possible letter delivery service because of the financial strength of the company. I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I will certainly take it up and have that meeting facilitated. I hope, in terms of their input and particularly the ongoing appropriate engagement between An Post and the staff, that this is stepped out in a way that works for the staff and particularly for the public, whom we all want to see properly served in their local communities.

Sentiment score: 0.52