Bailout worth €30m to prevent further post office closures
Minister of State with responsibility for postal matters, Hildegarde Naughton at the announcement of the funding package.
A €30m bailout over three years to safeguard the future of the post office network has been announced by the Government.
Communications Minister Eamon Ryan and minister of State with responsibility for postal matters, Hildegarde Naughton, have won Cabinet approval to provide €10m per year to prevent any more post offices from closing.
The plan could see post offices receive €12,000 a year each as a public service obligation (PSO) payment. There are around 900 post offices across the State, some 875 of which are independently operated by postmasters.
The aim is to safeguard the most vulnerable post offices and to protect access to services across the country.
Funding will be disbursed to postmasters to ensure a balance between providing vital financial support and certainty while, at the same time, maintaining a commercial focus.
This is not the first time the Government has offered financial support to An Post.
To fund An Post's strategic plan, which is estimated to cost in the region of €150m, the Government provided a long-term low-interest loan of €30m in December 2017 — €15m to support and protect the post office network and €15m for the continued fulfilment of a five-day-per-week mail delivery service.
An Post announced an €8.5m pandemic relief fund in June 2021, which is benefitting all post offices over an 18-month period until the end of this year.
Announcing the last bailout package, Ms Naughten said it is a first-time move in the history of Government where it is now providing direct financial support to postmasters who operate much of the network.
“Post offices are a vital part of our community, a fact clearly evident in the monthly footfall of over one million visitors to post offices," she said.
"Post offices play a central role to both society as a whole and to Government through the provision of high-quality public services in towns, villages, and cities right across the country."
“I am confident this €30m multi-annual scheme, amounting to €10m each year for three years, will protect our post office network and will ensure that families and businesses nationwide can continue to access services from within their own communities,” she added.
Mr Ryan said the measures will help to ensure that people can continue to have access to important services through the post office network.
It also underpins the Government’s commitment to a network that is sufficient in scale and capacity for people to be able to access these services, no matter where they live, he said.
The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) has warned of “unrestrained” post office closures if the Government does not act quickly to provide financial support or an “annual retainer”.
The IPU said it welcomed the announcement of the Government plan to secure the Post Office Network.
Seán Martin, president of the Irish Postmasters Union, said: “The network continues to be Ireland’s largest retail and face-to-face service network at the heart of over 900 communities serving approximately 1.3m customers each week.
"Our role in supporting communities was never more evident than during the recent pandemic when we were one of the few government services to remain open throughout.”
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