Post office closures - Minister in firing line

Coupled with the decimation of local Garda stations, the threat of closure hanging over hundreds of post offices represents a potential body blow to what remains of the once rich but now sadly decaying fabric of rural Ireland.

The ironic thing about this sword of Damocles hanging by a slender hair over an estimated 557 post offices is that their demise is likely to result from Government inaction. The culprit, according to angry postmasters who last night picketed the Dáil in protest, is Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte.

He stands accused of putting at risk An Post’s contract with the Department of Social Protection to pay out social welfare benefits. If, as they fear, the Coalition passes that business onto the banks, it will tear from the countryside what remains of rural society’s once vibrant heart.