Postmasters warn of post office closures over social welfare recipients

Welfare chiefs will shut down post offices by pushing social welfare recipients to use banks instead, postmasters have warned.

Staging a protest outside Social Protection Minister Joan Burton’s office, the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) said her refusal to reverse the policy will sound the death knell for branches country-wide.

Ned O’Hara, IPU general secretary, said welfare payments make up to 30% of all post office business — or as much as half of its overall business when you include related transactions.