Local welcome for post offices funding announcement

There has been a positive local reaction to the announcement that €10m per annum is to be provided over a three-year period to support post offices.

Postmaster Geraldine Parker from the Athlone Towncentre Post Office said the funding was badly needed.

She believes people were encouraged to go to the bank instead which didn't help post offices. “There's a huge amount of services online now so there's lots of competition. Once people move to the bank you seldom get them back.”

According to Ms Parker the pandemic didn't help post offices and there's been a decline in people accessing their services in recent years. The local postmaster hopes to see people back in the post office following the pandemic and the positive funding announcement.

Speaking from the post office in Stillorgan, Dublin, where the scheme was announced, Minister Hildegarde Naughton, who has special responsibility for postal matters, said: “Post offices play a central role to both society as a whole and to Government through the provision of high-quality public services across the country. This announcement is a first-time move in the history of Government, where we are now providing direct financial support to postmasters who operate much of our network.”

Concluding, Minister Naughton said: “A modernised post office network will provide a better and wider range of community banking and e-commerce services for citizens and businesses. Through this measure we are underlining our commitment to a sustainable, nationwide post office network.”

The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) said that the government funding recognises the social value of post offices.

Seán Martin, IPU President said: “The post office network is the lifeblood of our towns and villages and a much-trusted focal point of our communities. The network continues to be Ireland’s largest retail and face-to-face service network at the heart of over 900 communities serving approximately 1.3 million customers each week.

“Our role in supporting communities was never more evident than during the recent pandemic when we were one of the few government services to remain open throughout.”

“The post office network is a highly trusted service and a national asset which postmasters want to grow and develop. We have always been willing to work with new services and we have demonstrated our flexibility time and again in responding to new challenges.”

Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) General Secretary Ned O’Hara added: “Postmasters will now focus on working to ensure the equitable distribution of this funding and we look forward to discussing the matter further with An Post. The IPU is committed to working to develop the network and keep as many Post Offices as possible serving communities across the country.”

According to local TD Denis Naughton, the allocation of €30m in once off-funding is welcome but ignores the need for a long-term sustainability strategy that is key for postmasters/mistresses to decide if they will continue to keep the doors open.

“This need for new Government business is vital not just to the survival of the existing post offices but to the retention of a post office in the local community when the postmaster/mistress retires.

“We already have had instances where there is nobody willing to take on the business of a closing post office because of the lack of a sustainable commercial model. Government is key to addressing this through the transfer of offline routes for services such as motor tax, identification verification, driving licences to this vital network.”

Monies will be distributed between a fixed/guaranteed element and a variable, performance-based element, which will be determined following consultation between An Post and the IPU (Irish Postmasters Union) and approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.