The Government and the Attorney General were still considering the options available on the possible putting out to tender of social welfare payments, the Taoiseach said. He also told deputies that there was no danger to rural post offices.
The matter was first raised on the Order of Business by the Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, who asked if the Government needed to bring in legislation on the issue, or whether it was seeking a derogation of the EU directive awarding public service contracts.
Mrs Owen added that it was Mr Ahern, as minister for finance, who had signed the directive in 1992.
She said that advertising for the tendering of the social welfare payments appeared last February. "Can the Taoiseach tell us why his Government did not seek the advice it is now seeking about whether or not the tender had to be put out?" It was interesting "that, again, it is a Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrats' government which is trying to close down the post offices".
Mr Ahern remarked: "If I did sign it in 1992, the government of which you were part had an opportunity to change it. You did not do it . . . There was no advertisement put in. The indicative pre-notice which is mandatory to do under EU law was listed . . . The matter is being looked at by the Government and the Attorney General."
Mrs Owen said that the matter should have been sorted out before the indicative advertisement appeared in the newspapers and before the Government had set up "the scare among all the people running post offices throughout the country that they are going to lose the social welfare payments".
Mr Ahern replied: "The only scare is being created by Deputy Owen. There is no danger to rural post offices."
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, asked if the Government was considering bringing in legislation relating to Article 6 of the directive, specifying that An Post was required to provide the services of social welfare payments. "If such legislation were brought in, there would be no legal doubt as to whether, in fact, this was a matter for financial tendering or whether it was a social provision."
Mr Ahern said that the Attorney General had been examining the matter for some time and had prepared a number of options, one being whether it was possible to consider it on the basis of social rather than financial regulations.