Postmasters seek delay on plan to phase out welfare payments

Postmasters have called on the Government to stall plans to phase out cash welfare payments until the likely damage to post office business is assessed.

An Post has the contract to provide over-the-counter cash welfare payments for the Department of Social Protection which makes 50% of all its payments in cash — about 43.7m transactions worth €9.5bn.

However, from September, the department wants to rapidly increase the number of welfare recipients using accounts in financial institutions to receive their payments electronically so that cash payments are all but eliminated by 2017. The Irish Postmasters Union warned the move would decimate smaller post offices, possibly leading to the closure of 400 of the network of 1,152.