Post vans may deliver water and meals

Post vans could be stocked with bottled water to be handed out to elderly and vulnerable people impacted by the continuing drought.

Discussions are also ongoing around expanding the services An Post provides to include the delivery of meals-on-wheels, prescriptions, and some groceries.

The Government is keen to take advantage of the An Post network which delivers approximately two million items per day to 2.1 million residential and commercial addresses.

Extending the services An Post provides would also help sustain the network, whichcould see the closure of 100 post offices this year.

With a hosepipe ban expected to remain in place until October in the east and south of the country, Department of Health officials have met with An Post to utilise its valuable network of postmen and postwomen who are often aware of people most in need.

Minister of State for older people, Jim Daly, who first approached An Post with the idea of delivering water to elderly and vulnerable people in rural areas, said: “We must realise that we have a world-class network of a daily delivery service to every household in Ireland but we as consumers are not choosing to post our correspondence as often as we used to.”

A spokesperson for An Post said: “We’ll certainly help out if called upon to provide fresh bottled water to residents, alongside their mail, in areas affected by water shortages.”