Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-10-Speech-3-301"
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"en.20040310.9.3-301"2
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"Mr President, the publicly-owned postal company in Ireland, An Post, is currently struggling for survival. Following the impact of liberalisation, it has lost significant parts of the profitable portion of its market while it continues to bear the burden of carrying a universal service obligation to the furthest corners of the Republic of Ireland.
It must deliver a letter, which may originate in the UK or elsewhere, regardless of the cost and regardless of what area of the country it is addressed to. It is also losing significant state contracts, which enabled it to maintain its public service obligations, because of the public procurement requirements.
To oblige An Post to now apply VAT to its postal services could well be the death knell of the company. No doubt many of those free market enthusiasts will be rubbing their hands in glee at such a prospect because they can then pick up what remains of the profitable bits of the Irish market. But then what happens to the public service obligation? Who will deliver the letter to the person living alone in the extreme north-west or south-west of the Republic of Ireland?
The Irish Government has recently indicated its opposition to this measure, having kept its mouth shut very tightly since the subject was first mooted by the Commission in 2000. I welcome its recent conversion and I hope that it is successful in blocking this measure. There needs to be some common sense in the way we deal with public services like the postal services."@en1
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