Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey repeated that both sides in the dispute at An Post should agree a deal under Labour Court recommendations.
He said that at no stage had he apportioned blame to one side over the other. "I have stated the facts as they are and the history of An Post over the last 10 years has not been great," he added.
"The industrial climate in the company has been characterised by agreement to and payment for industrial relations agreements but little actual delivery on the ground. Payment up front means that the company pays for change, but subsequently only gets partial benefits and this worsens an already fragile financial position."
Mr Dempsey said the Labour Court had issued a comprehensive recommendation which outlined that the acceptance of the deal on collection and delivery would trigger payment of the bulk due under Sustaining Progress. The deal would have allowed a postman to obtain a 9 per cent pay increase this year on top of a 5 per cent Sustaining Progress pay increase already made, giving a total increase of 14 per cent.
Labour spokesman Tommy Broughan accused the Minister of taking sides, claiming that he had tried to portray An Post workers, the postmen and women, as lazy, overpaid, pampered workers who were only doing 3½ hours' work a day.
"All he had to do was go into his local post office in Navan or Trim to see that was not the case." Mr Broughan said he was led to believe that 74 An Post pensioners died in the past three years without receiving their due increases.
Mr Dempsey said he had told the truth as he knew it. "I blackguarded nobody. If people have a problem with the truth, that is their problem rather than mine. Little service would be paid to An Post workers and management, or the general public, by making this issue into a political football."
Fine Gael spokesman Bernard Durkan said that intervention in the dispute took place at the eleventh hour, constituting a fire brigade action. One of the underlying problems in An Post was the non-payment of pension entitlements to former employees of the company.
