2026-05-21

I am absolutely sick and tired of coming into this Chamber to complain about basic services not being delivered correctly or being removed to satisfy a corporate need rather than a public service. It seems to be a constant. I am in here every other week giving out about various emanations of the State. I am fed up with it and my constituents are fed up with it. Here we are once again and I am back to give out. This time it is about An Post threatening to close its sorting office in Harmonstown and relocate it to Finglas. This sorting office services parts of Coolock, Artane, Raheny and other areas covering a very significant population. Reports of its moving to Finglas are particularly concerning because there is no direct public transport link from Raheny, Coolock and Artane to Finglas. This proposal makes absolutely no sense. The local community relies on having accessible postal services and moving this service to Finglas would place an unnecessary burden on local residents, especially on older people who already struggle with accessing public transport and their own mobility. Finglas is simply not well connected to our community. There is no straightforward public transport link that would allow people to travel there easily and independently. If this daft proposal proceeds, people will have to travel by car which will just add traffic to the M50 carpark at a time when the country is trying to reduce our carbon footprint. My constituents are very worried about how they will collect parcels, deal with registered post, deal with missed deliveries and access postal services if this goes ahead. These are very basic services that people should be able to access within their own local community. Indeed, the EU proximity principle that is applied in many instances should be applied in respect of these services. Reducing accessibility is the wrong approach entirely. This idea has to be scrapped and I am asking the Minister to intervene on this and impress on An Post the value placed on the sorting office in Harmonstown and the damage that will be caused if it is to be relocated. An Post claims it requires bigger premises. There is a site owned by Dublin City Council right next-door to the sorting office. If An Post purchased a small piece of that site and a delicately planned planning application was made, I am sure it could be the solution. However, not having considered an extension and moving everything over to Finglas is daft. People are sick and tired of services being pulled from their communities and this will be another valuable amenity lost in the area I represent. This is an awful proposal and it needs to be stopped. The Minister, as shareholder on behalf of the people, needs to intervene.

I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this matter today. As An Post is a commercial State company with a mandate to act commercially, day-to-day operational matters, including decisions on the size, distribution and future of the network, are matters for the board and the management of the company and not ones in which either the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, or the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, has a statutory function. The Ministers are very aware of the impact that decisions relating to changes in An Post operations have on communities and individuals in both rural and urban areas. As this is a matter for the company, it would be inappropriate for the Government, as shareholder, to comment on or prejudice decisions which are for the board and management of An Post to consider. Notwithstanding this is an operational matter, officials have engaged with the company. An Post has advised in the case of Harmonstown, the move is very much in the future and there is much to be considered before then. This includes which facilities in the local area will be utilised for undelivered mail. An Post has advised it is in consultation with its staff and unions on the details of the move. An Post has noted it is consolidating its national network of local sorting offices, also known as delivery service units. An Post advises it needs larger and purpose-fitted premises to manage increased parcel volumes. An Post further advises it is hiring 300 additional postmen and postwomen across the country, some of whom will be working in this area, to manage the massive growth in volumes. The Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. The programme for Government states that the Government will continue to provide a nationwide network of post offices with funding to ensure their sustainability and enhance the value they bring to local communities. The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is working to deliver on this and an enhanced amount of €15 million per annum has been allocated for supporting the network, subject to all legal requirements being satisfied. In line with the programme for Government, the funding will support the stability and sustainability of the nationwide network of post offices, protecting and nurturing a commercially focused post office network. It will also support access for citizens to the key social benefits of the post office network and help citizens to access services effectively and equitably. The Government also agreed the principles on which the funding model will operate, which include: maintaining access to the network across urban and rural Ireland, ensuring no community is left behind; aligning individual funding with criteria, including the degree of isolation and the sustainability of each post office; ensuring a minimum revenue threshold for post offices; and recognising offices of cultural or geographic significance, such as those on inhabited islands or in Gaeltacht areas. Over the past couple of years, An Post has been transforming its business by delivering new products and new formats in the way it operates. This includes, among other things, diversifying and growing the financial services products it provides for individuals and SMEs. An Post is also providing agency banking services. The Deputy has outlined his concerns and wants the Minister to intervene. I will bring those concerns back to the Minister. I thank him for his contribution.

I am not happy with this hand-wringing exercise to say there is no statutory function. As a shareholder in the company, the Minister has some influence over decisions that are being made. If a State-owned body or a semi-State body in which a Minister has a shareholding is not influenceable, there is a serious issue. I welcome, however, the Minister of State's remarks that he will bring the concerns to the attention of the line Minister. I look forward to hearing further in that regard.

I have listened with interest to the points the Deputy raised. Decisions on post offices, as we have indicated, are operational matters for An Post and are not a matter over which the Minister has statutory function. The Deputy outlined clearly that the Minister and the Government have a shareholding. He has asked them to use that leverage to make his views known. As I said, however, he cannot intervene. An Post has an independent board with a clear mandate but both the board and management are doing all they can to maintain the company’s sustainability and relevance to customers in the future. The Minister, his officials and Cabinet colleagues are working to support the company to that end. The Government is committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network as a key component of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland. The Deputy has raised a social issue in this regard, and it should be heard by the board of An Post. The programme for Government states that the Government will continue to provide the nationwide services. We need to continue to fund them to ensure their sustainability and enhance the value they bring to local communities. The Department of culture and communications is working to deliver on this. We will work closely in this regard. The Deputy's views are known and they will be raised with the Minister. I will ask the Minister to at least discuss these things with An Post management to alleviate these issues in the Deputy’s area.