Rural communities themselves must shoulder some of the blame for the fall-off in business suffered by many post offices, writes Séamus Boland.
The only surprise in An Post's recent announcement that 500 post offices will close following a year-long review of the post office network is that we are being informed in advance. In 2006, 44 sub-post offices closed, making a total of 400 closures by stealth since 2002. Prior to the latest announcement, a further 300 sub-post offices had been predicted to close in 2007.
The post offices that closed last year included: Whitehall and St Margaret's in Dublin; Brandon, Co Kerry; Tomhaggard, Co Wexford; Grangecon, Co Wicklow; Church Cross, Kildinan and Carrigrohane, Co Cork; Martinstown and Holycross, Kilmallock, Co Limerick; Crosspatrick, Co Tipperary; Drumcree, Co Westmeath and Cranford, Co Donegal.
At present Ireland has 84 full post offices and just under 1,300 sub-post offices, many of which are experiencing difficult times. Also, given that Ireland has the highest number of post offices per head of population, with 4.2 outlets per 10,000 inhabitants compared to an EU average of 2.7, it is clear that further post office closures have been likely for some time.
These closures occur mainly through natural wastage, either through retirement or because of poor financial returns. According to the Irish Postmasters' Union, some of their members are earning as little as €8,000 per year, with an average yearly income of €16,000, working an average of 50 hours a week. Many are fearful of the threat to their security and are deciding to retire rather than live with the constant fear.
Other developments threaten the existence of the local post office. The increased use of the electronic funds transfer systems means that fewer people need to use their local offices. Under an EU court ruling, the social welfare contract, worth in excess of €50 million annually to An Post, must now be sent out to tender next year. The consequences of not getting such a contract would seriously threaten the economic sustainability of many post offices, not just in rural Ireland. European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services Charlie McCreevy has proposed to fully liberalise postal services by 2009. This will compel member states to stop protecting public operators from national or cross-border competition.
As with many services in rural Ireland, economic viability is the main consideration when it comes to securing the future of a post office. Yet there is a serious social cost to the State if it simply turns its back on this service. The value of its services, especially to people who do not have the luxury of their own transport, or access to public transport, cannot be measured in financial terms alone. That said, the value of a post office to the economic sustainability of the local village or rural area is also considerable.
Rural communities themselves must shoulder some of the blame for the fall-off in business suffered by many branches. The rural post office is threatened by the convenience of the car to transport people to the nearest large town where they can access some new, large shopping mall and all its attractions. Unintentionally, the actions of the most able and those with access to transport in rural or deprived areas may further deprive the most vulnerable in their own communities.
In 2001, the Flynn report made a number of interesting recommendations, such as that the sub-post office be integrated within an existing business, mainly local shops. It recommended the development of additional services such as banking, bill payment as well as expansion of the delivery of government services.
However, the report also pointed out that even with such an expansion, using the post office network to deliver social welfare payments was more expensive than some alternatives and was therefore unsustainable in the long term on purely economic considerations.
It is clear that solutions which seek to maintain a service only if it pays for itself will not work. However, it is also true that the availability of the local post office is for many an absolute necessity, and its disappearance would cause considerable hardship.
While the preservation of our network of post offices is partly dependent on our everyday actions and choices, it is also dependent on how we as a society understand the term "public service". If our understanding of "public service" includes promoting social inclusion, then the logic of negotiations between the IPU and An Post changes and a role for imaginative Government action emerges. If we can accept a social inclusion cost to public services in rural or disadvantaged areas we could reconsider the Flynn report's recommendation of integrating local services and see what room we have to manoeuvre with the EU. Until we accept such an understanding of public services, post offices and other local services will continue to decline in "uneconomic" areas.
Séamus Boland is CEO of Irish Rural Link and a representative of the community and voluntary sector on the National Economic and Social Council