Fear of post office collapse
An East Cork postmaster has predicted that hundreds of post offices will close across the country next year if they don’t get much-needed financial support.
That’s the opinion of Paddy O’Shea, the postmaster in Upper Aghada, after a Grant Thornton report published yesterday recommended that €17 million in Government supports is needed annually for the Post Office network to survive.
The report commissioned by the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) recommended an annual public service obligation (PSO) of €17 million with the IPU yesterday warning that the investment is urgently needed.
The IPU said that if State support is not introduced, the Post Office network will “collapse”.
A IPU statement said that the financial problem is due to reach “crisis point” by mid-2021 as new contract payments paid by An Post to postmasters are to end at that stage.
The IPU said that establishing alternative funding options to maintain a sustainable future for the Post Office network and for postmasters is “now essential”.
Post offices are run by postmasters who are independent providers of the network under contract to An Post.
There are currently 899 postmasters and 45 An Post-operated post offices in the country.
Speaking with the Cork Independent, Paddy O’Shea, who has been a postmaster for 40 years, said it’s very hard to make money as a postmaster, adding that Government supports are definitely needed in the form of a PSO.
He said: “I can see hundreds of post offices closing next year if there is no PSO given. It’ll will be even harder to make a living next year if no PSO is given. A PSO is the only viable solution. There’s been talks for years about post offices looking after motor tax payments but that doesn’t seem to be happening.”
Paddy also said that the post office is hugely important for the community, too.
“It’s a social outing for a lot of people. Pensioners come in to pay their bills and get their pension but it’s not just about money, it’s about the social aspect too.
“The school is near me and parents come in to do business and there’s great chat between everyone when they’re in doing business. If I had to close next year, it will be a great loss to the community.”
During a Zoom meeting yesterday between several IPU members, IPU General Secretary Ned O’Hara said that postmasters want to stay in business and serve the public long into the future.
“The Government must decide is the Post Office network worth sustaining. If the answer is no, post offices will be decimated and it will have a negative effect on rural and urban communities. The situation is becoming graver every day.”
IPU President Sean Martin said the Government needs to act with urgency and no further review, report, or working group process is now needed.
He said: “We have already had the Bobby Kerr-led independent review in 2016, followed by a detailed working group including IPU, An Post and government in 2018. And there has been a further review group process in 2020 and now we have a comprehensive financial, economic and social analysis from Grant Thornton.
“A post office PSO needs to be sanctioned this year and implemented by mid-2021. We do not have time to delay and do not need further evidence. The level of closures next year is potentially so significant as to mean a collapse of the Irish Post Office network as we know it.”
A statement from An Post said: “An Post notes the report from the postmasters union, the body representing independent postmasters. Both of An Post’s networks, the delivery network and the Post Office network are performing very well through the crisis.
“An Post does recognise that postmaster incomes and footfall into post offices have come under increased pressure due to the double social welfare payment schedules during Covid and is working with Government to restore these. Any subsidies for independent postmasters is an issue between Government and the postmasters.
“An Post earlier this year announced its third year of profit and revenue growth. The pandemic will cost An Post a significant amount but this is funded from An Post’s strong balance sheet and we have supported postmasters during the crisis as double social welfare payments persisted,” it concluded.