Changes to PO payments opposed

Organisations representing farming, rural and elderly communities have expressed concern over the threat to post offices if the…

Organisations representing farming, rural and elderly communities have expressed concern over the threat to post offices if the Government accedes to an EU directive to privatise the provision of social welfare payments.

Mr Neily Lehane of CORPO (Conserve our Rural Post Offices) said yesterday the plan could close hundreds of the State's 1,900 post offices, which would mean "devastation" for rural towns and villages. "Post offices are the centre of everything in rural communities and if social welfare payments are transferred elsewhere, the worse-off sections of our community will suffer," he said.

His remarks came after the Government postponed a decision to tender the distribution of social welfare payments, which makes up more than half post offices' business. Mr Dermot Leavy, chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association's rural development committee, said the loss of rural post offices would "exacerbate rural decline". If An Post lost the contract, the organisation should be seeking to administer other State services to remain viable.

Mr Jim Quigley, president of Muintir Na Tire, said his organi sation would fight "hammer and tongs" anything which might close rural post offices. He was grateful to the postmasters and post-mistresses who for years "have taken a genuine interest in the people availing of their services".

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Ms Vera Hogan of the Irish Postmasters' Union said the State would incur significant costs if it went ahead with the plan and the resulting redundancies in post offices would mean a bill of £20 million. She added that £17 million would need to be spent on improving travel services.

The threat to post offices caused by the proposal had implications for the elderly in the community, said Mr John Heuston of the National Council on Ageing and Older People. "We would be opposed to anything that would lead to the breakdown of the social infrastructure and the further isolation of older people," he said.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed said it welcomed anything which would improve the service for those on social welfare payments.