THE future of the An Post mail centre in Portlaoise is still uncertain, following a Dáil debate on the matter.
Deputy Seán Fleming raised the issue with communications minister Denis Naughten last week.
He told the minister that the Portlaoise centre is one of the busiest in the country, processing up to 450,000 mail items in addition to approximately 28,000 parcels. It employs 200 employees and 50 in the parcel processing section.
He said: “The mail centre has a customs service presence, which means that high-security measures are in place to detect illicit items that could arrive in the country by parcel post for onward distribution.”
While acknowledging that An Post had commissioned a report on the company’s future, deputy Fleming said it “did not make any negative finding in respect of the Portlaoise mail centre and did not recommend scaling down or closing the centre”.
In his reply, minister Naughten did not make one mention of the mail centre in Portlaoise.
He said: “The postal sector as a whole is undergoing systemic change as a result of the growth of the digital economy. The continuing decline in mail volumes, combined with the ongoing impact of e-substitution on retail businesses transacted through the post office network is a significant challenge for the company and has an impact on its financial wellbeing.”
He said that the 2016 An Post annual report and financial statements had operating losses of €13.7 million, adding: “Clearly, this is a very significant loss, and losses of this scale cannot be sustained.”
He said that the brief of the commissioned report is to carry out “a fundamental review of the company, with a view to identifying the strategic changes and restructuring necessary to maintain it on a sound financial footing. As the process is nearing completion, speculation at this stage on the future of any part of the national mails network is premature until the full analysis is complete”.
He said: “Transforming the postal business will be difficult and will require tough decisions, but the new changes will be designed to make An Post fit for a future in which the organisation can be confident, robust and a winner in the digital world.
“There is no point in trying to hold the tide back. The digital economy is growing and either An Post will be a part of that or it will not. More state and non-state services will go online. If we intend to use the old An Post model, then An Post will be in very serious difficulty.
Speaking with the Laois Nationalist following the debate, deputy Fleming said he was somewhat disappointed with the minister’s repose but was still hopeful for job security for those employed at the Portlaoise centre, adding: “I received no assurances from the minister about the mail centre’s future.”
