Post office network in Ireland at risk of collapse without urgent government funding

The post office on Andrews St in Dublin. Transactions in post offices have been significantly down since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, with a decline of 15m An Post transactions between 2019 and 2023. Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Ireland’s post office network is at risk of "rapid, unrestrained closures" if it doesn't get urgent investment, a new report has warned.

Commissioned by the Irish Postmasters’ Union, the report from Grant Thornton suggests that post offices need a strategic investment of €15m a year over the next five years or face the prospect of going under.

If this funding commitment is not made, it would result in “cutting communities off from vital services, undermining national goals for regional equity, social cohesion and financial access”, it said.

The report suggests that the post office network in Ireland is worth between €344m and €776m in terms of its annual social and economic value to communities across Ireland. A previous Grant Thornton report from 2020 also placed a similar figure on this annual social value.

It said that post offices drive economic benefits as well as having a social and community impact which have heightened as banks continue to close branches, and the country moves towards a more digitally-focused economy.

In such times, it said post offices have become critical for financial inclusion and cash accessibility, particularly for vulnerable and rural communities.

However, transactions have been significantly down since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, with a decline of 15m An Post transactions between 2019 and 2023.

Its four key products of social welfare, mailing, post office savings book and bill pay – while accounting for two-thirds of postmaster contractual earnings – have been in decline since 2020.

The Grant Thornton report said: “Despite efforts to improve the financial sustainability of the Post Office Network, including a reduction in the number of post offices from 952 in 2019 to 902 in 2023 through voluntary closure, these measures have not been sufficient to stabilise Postmasters’ gross revenue without additional funding support.” 

It said alongside this, inflation, wage increases and additional compliance costs have all put further pressure on those running post offices.

Highlighting its 2020 report which suggested that around one third of post offices were at risk of closure without further investment, Grant Thornton said such an estimate “may now be conservative in 2025”.