Liberalisation of the Irish Postal Market
The Government is currently developing the Postal Services Bill which will change the face of the Irish postal market forever by allowing it to be opened up to the free market. It is feared that this will put the vital public service that An Post provides at risk, as this has happened in other countries where the postal market has been liberalised (opened to the free market).
The postal service is an essential element of the social fabric of the country. In addition to this, the postal service provides an important communications link for residents in rural parts of the country as well as for the old and disabled. It is a cornerstone of social cohesion and is vital to bridging the urban/rural divide by providing a reliable, single price service throughout the entire country. As well as this it is an important element of our economic wellbeing as it provides a competitive, trusted and efficient way of doing business.
What can you do to Protect Your Post?
You should visit the website www.protectyourpost.ie where you can email a pre-written message to all of your political representatives by clicking on the TAKE ACTION button.
The CWU is calling on anyone who values this vital public service to make their voices heard now to Protect Your Post.
Response to Email Campaign from Minister Ryan
Dear [name removed],
I refer to your email 31 October in relation to the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill.
I plan to publish the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill shortly, the main purpose of which is to transpose the Third Postal Services Directive.
While full market opening represents a significant milestone for the postal market, with both opportunities and challenges, it is in reality just the final phase in the gradual and controlled approach that has been taken to opening this market.
In designing the new regulatory framework, the key principles are the maintenance of a universal postal service, and the development of a competitive sector providing competitively priced, high quality postal services to both business and residential customers.
The essential element of universal postal service is the collection and delivery of mail to every address in the State on every working day. The legislation proposes to continue the designation of An Post as the universal postal service provider for a period of seven years, and ComReg will be charged with ensuring the provision of the service.
It is Government policy that An Post remains a strong and viable company, in a position to provide a high quality, nationwide postal service and maintain a nationwide, customer focussed network of post offices.
Liberalisation brings opportunities and challenges, but irrespective of liberalisation, An Post and the postal sector as a whole face challenges, not least the squeeze on revenues from electronic substitution. An Post will therefore need to continue to cut costs and seek to innovate and generate new income streams if it is to compete effectively and be the operator of choice in a liberalised market. These issues are clearly the responsibility of the board and management of the company.
Similarly, staff issues and conditions of employment are the responsibility of the management of all postal service providers and general employment legislation applies across the economy as a whole. There are no provisions in this legislation relating to employment terms and conditions in the postal sector specifically.
The issues for Ireland arising from the Directive have been widely and comprehensively consulted upon, and as with all legislative proposals, a regulatory impact analysis was conducted.
Two issues which are addressed directly in the legislation are the financing of the universal postal service, and downstream access. The Bill recognises that there may be instances where the universal service obligation might entail an unfair financial burden and provision is made for a mechanism to share the burden between postal service providers competing within the universal service.
The legislation also makes provision for competitors to gain access to parts of An Post’s network on commercially negotiated terms and conditions. The Government recognises the important role that An Post has played to date, and in this context, an innovative, successful An Post will play a key role in the development of the wider postal sector.
Thank you for taking the time to write to me on this issue.
Yours sincerely
Eamon Ryan T.D.
Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources