Post office network has been 'sidelined' by Government, Oireachtas told 

Tipperary TD Michael Lowry said for years post offices have been allowed to wither and die.

The country’s post office network has been “sidelined” by the Government amid warnings that a wave of closures is coming in June.

Post office closures will begin unless transformation payments are continued, the Oireachtas Communications Committee has heard.

Tipperary TD Michael Lowry said for years post offices have been allowed to wither and die. Most post offices are under the threat of closure and An Post is worn out from analysis, he added.

“It has been flogged to death by Government indecision. 

An Post has been the subject of a mountain of reviews, assessments and evaluations and numerous reports. Far-reaching recommendations to rescue the service are piled high without any implementation. 

"Successive Governments have made positive noises and did absolutely nothing,” he said.

Mr Lowry said it beggared belief that last week the Government decided to establish yet another inter-departmental group to examine the feasibility of directing more Government business to the post office network.

'Another fudge'

“There is nothing new in this. It has happened before. It is another fudge. Over many years, report after report declared in emphatic terms that An Post outlets were non-viable and faced closure,” he said.

The Government must step in as a matter of urgency to create market conditions to allow An Post to grow and develop a wide range of services that would be supported by the community, the committee heard.

General secretary of the Irish Postmasters' Union Ned O'Hara said: "People can't continue as it is – either we are required or we are not required."

Ireland's postmasters are contractors who are paid for the transactions carried out in post offices.

They have raised fears about the impact of the end of transformation fees, which are due to expire in June.

"Transformation payments agreed with An Post in 2018 were on the assumption, that by 2021, there would be a range of 'new' Government services made available to support the Network. However, none of these services has yet materialised.

"The challenge now faced is related to this delay in providing these new Government services, promised since 2018, but only now being seriously examined," Mr O’Hara said.

Labour’s Duncan Smith said with Ulster Bank pulling out of Ireland and the closure of Bank of Ireland branches, we need a strong community post office network to play a central role in protecting our towns and villages. 

The State must support this and recognise its existing network.