New threat to rural post offices

A whole tranche of local Post Offices could be facing closure – without the knowledge of the community – on foot of a new ‘retirement’ package being offered by An Post.

The national postal service is looking for up to 400 sub-postmasters to voluntarily take a package worth two years of their salary as a golden handshake. This would amount to €30,000 at the lower end of the scale.

But where postmasters agree to that deal that will effectively mean the end of the Post Office in that community.

An Post is calling it a ‘consolidation’ – but the end result will mean that the nearest sub office will be considerably further away than it used to be.

The only exceptions which An Post is making to the “consolidation” process are Islands communities where it is a policy to maintain the post offices that are there, open.

The sub-postmasters who are being offered the deal may accept or reject it but they do not have any obligation to tell anybody about it.

Neither will An Post provide any detail about who has been offered the package or where it has been offered – because of “right to privacy” regulations.

Sub Postmasters who wish to avail of the deal have until next Tuesday, July 31, to make their claim.

It is not known how many of the offers of the two year retirement package have  gone out in County Galway but two sub post offices, at least, in Connemara are being focused on – and possibly more.

The basic income for sub postmasters is €15,000 annually and hundreds of post offices do not generate much beyond that because of a low level of business.

An Post has a policy of phasing out these post offices where possible and “consolidating” the service by transferring the business to another post office.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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