The Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, insisted that changes to An Post were required, as he faced Opposition criticism of his approach to the postal dispute.
"An Post's financial situation is such that a prolonged dispute could cause serious financial damage to the company," said Mr Ahern.
"An Post needs to restructure and return to a firm financial footing if it is to be a strong player in the Irish postal market. It must continue to provide quality services to customers and sustainable employment for staff." He added that the recovery strategy set out the basis on which the company, in partnership with the unions, could do so.
The Labour spokesman on communications, Mr Tommy Broughan, claimed that the most destructive aspect of the dispute was that Mr Ahern, as shareholder on behalf of the State, had given the green light to An Post's chief executive to pursue "an aggressive and gung-ho" industrial relations policy.
"Last November, these profound issues were being addressed by both sides, but suddenly the chief executive said no. It is perceived that this could not have happened unless the Minister authorised such a policy. Will the Minister explain his role in the dispute?"
Mr Ahern said An Post's financial situation had been difficult for some years, particularly with unsustainable losses of €17 million in 2002, €43 million in 2003 and an estimated €30 million this year.
"It is the workers who will ultimately suffer if these are to continue. An Post's management brought forward a draft strategy towards the end of last year which was approved by all the members of the board, including the five worker-directors."
He said that he had received a presentation of the strategy before management engaged with the unions. "Unfortunately, those discussions broke down almost immediately because of the precarious financial position of An Post."
Mr Seán Crowe (SF, Dublin South West) said there had been claims that the dispute would cost An Post €14 million. "Does the Minister not share my unease about the treatment of some of the suspended staff ? I understand that the Minister does not wish to inflame the situation, but a number of staff were suspended because they would not operate certain machines. Is the Minister aware that some staff were not trained to operate the machines in question ? "
Some staff, he added, had cancer or were pregnant, while one staff member received a letter of suspension while he was at his mother-in-law's funeral.
Mr Ahern said that nobody wanted to see workers suspended and not treated fairly. "However, there are issues in this dispute, as in the past, which both the management and unions cannot agree on. I insisted, particularly with the ongoing discussions, that all issues, including the bushfire disputes at Tuam and Drogheda, be on the table at the Labour Relations Commission so as to be resolved."
