Sir, – Important parts of the social fabric of rural communities seem to be disappearing at an increasing speed. Small schools, shops, banks, Garda stations, doctors’ surgeries – there has been an unrelenting stream of closures. An Post’s plans to close dozens more post offices will come as a heavy blow in towns and villages where the number of empty business premises can outnumber those still operating. Anyone who has stood in a queue of a rural post office will know that the value of such places is something that cannot be measured in monetary terms.
An Post will, reasonably, argue that they are not funded to provide a listening ear, so is it beyond the wit of those in high places to do something imaginative? Could rural post offices not be offered the chance to become community service offices, if necessary occupying different premises, and dealing with far more than just the existing range of services? Could postmasters not be offered the chance to become community service officers, providing support to the multiplicity of community associations and groups? Could the Government not see that there is infinite value in having places where the old ways of kindness and care still exist and, as the post offices once did, which can appear on the Ordnance Survey maps as the mark of the life of a community? – Yours, etc,
IAN POULTON,
Rector of Clonenagh
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
Group of Parishes,
Mountrath, Co Laois.
Sir, – I live in Cabinteely, Co Dublin. Within walking distance there are post offices in Cabinteely Village, Deansgrange, Killiney Shopping Centre, Glenageary Hill, Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire. How this can be justified considering the current predicament of An Post is beyond me. Rationalisation is long overdue. – Yours, etc,
KARL DOYLE,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – It is not up to others. It is up to us to buy local. Use it or lose it, for no other remedy will work. – Yours, etc,
JOHN ROGERS,
Rathowen, Co Westmeath.
Sir, – I don’t know what the chief executive officer of An Post is paid, but fair play to him.
He has advised that the business is going to run into a cash-flow problem, to the point that it will not be able to meet the wages and salaries falling due in a few months.
We as taxpayers pay the cost of the senior strategic management team that has decided that the solution to the problem is to increase the cost of the stamp by a mere 40 per cent to a round euro.
The level of insight is remarkable. You have to wonder how the wheel-spin stopped at an even euro.
In fairness to the chief executive, the postal workers might well be able to travel lighter, but the chance of getting the odd Christmas card will probably greatly diminish.
Will the chief executive commit to falling on his sword if An Post suffers from the law of diminishing returns as a result of this strategic decision? – Yours, etc,
PADDY GOGARTY,
Portmarnock , Co Dublin.
Sir, – We are faced with a 40 per cent increase in the cost of a stamp. This is yet another increase without the underlying costs being remedied. A business cannot continually increase its prices to such extravagant levels and expect to retain its “captive” customer base. Each price increase means fewer “clients” using the service, but rather than pursuing alternative means to deliver invoices, etc, such as email. An Post’s chief executive and his board should have dealt with its overheads many years ago. – Yours, etc,
EUGENE HAYES,
Limerick.
Sir, – If we hadn’t wasted all that money on Eircodes, maybe An Post would be a functioning organisation. – Yours, etc,
CLAIRE BRADLEY,
Swords, Co Dublin.
Sir, – The news that many rural banks and post offices are to close raises again the question of how rural communities can access these essential services. In addition, there is a deficit in the rural provision of many other key community services.
Perhaps the time has come for a coordinated network of outlets in rural Ireland, each outlet providing a basic postal service, social welfare payment system, ATM banking service, library service, tourist information service, photocopying service, internet access, launderette, charity shop, tea room and whatever other services are needed locally. These outlets could be funded by their profits as well as by moderate subsidies from the national businesses or institutions that they service. They could be staffed mainly by voluntary staff under professional supervision locally and administered by local authorities.
As a rural retiree, I would have no difficulty in devoting a day or two every week to such an outlet. It would add meaning to my life and such volunteerism would give a sense of cohesion to the local community.
In many ways the new system would be similar to the current post office network but with many other services added, and with mainly voluntary staffing. Isn’t it worth trying with pilot projects in a few areas? – Yours, etc,
SEAN O’SULLIVAN,
Crossabeg, Co Wexford.