Muintir na
Tíre, the National Association for Community Development, has said that the
planned closure of rural post offices is premature.
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| Mike Sweeney Muintir na Tire President |
Muintir na
Tíre National President, Michael Sweeney said “For many years, Muintir has
lobbied for improvements to the post office network, including in our recent
Save Rural Ireland campaign. Since these improvements have not been fully
explored, the proposed closures are premature. For most of these villages, if
they lose their post office it is unlikely they will ever have a State presence
again.”
CEO, Niall
Garvey added, “in 2015 we were part of the Bobby Kerr review of the post office
network. This review concluded that many smaller offices are not commercially
viable but they serve a vital social role. It was agreed this social capital
should be recognised and funded separately to An Post, if necessary.”
“In many
communities, the post office is the last remaining community hub and it was
agreed this role could be expanded – beyond the current core post office
business and to include many other state services and facilities. There was
agreement that this would be explored on a pilot basis. Therefore it is
premature to close post offices before the structure of the overall network is
reviewed.”
“We realise
that not one size fits all, but we believe with some time and effort that these
vital services can be saved. In some cases the existing services can be
co-located with another premises in the area. Several of the communities currently
slated for post office closure have already identified existing shops willing
to take on the services. In other cases an expanded offering, through a
community hub, would work.”
“This review
would take a little time, and it is disappointing so little has happened since
2015. However, it must be given this time and priority. An Post is profitable
again so this is not an emergency, but in fairness, they must know what their
future mandate and funding is to be also. In the interim though, the current
redundancy process is not fair. Every postmaster or postmistress involved is
self-employed and rightly has to consider his or her own livelihood. However,
pitting them against the very communities that they have served, and that have
supported them, is wrong and is causing tension.”
“We have
often used the “use it or lose” mantra ourselves, but in the case of small post
offices, it is not working. This is because the demand for existing services is
declining. The solution though is not to remove them, but to expand them.”
Note for Editors:
Muintir na
Tire was founded in 1937 as the National Association for Community Development.
It works directly with over 200 Community Councils, both rural and urban.
In 1984
Muintir founded the Community alert programme in response to an increase in
rural crime. This programme operated to this day, supporting over 1,400
Community Alert groups, in partnership with An Garda Siochána.
In 2013,
Muintir launched the Community Text Alert programme, again in partnership with
An Garda Siochána, and other community groups. Over 1,000 groups now use this
programme, receiving alerts from an Garda Síochána effectively and efficiently.
Muintir
administers several schemes on behalf of community groups, such as the Text
Alert Rebate Scheme. This scheme sees Text Alert groups receive a rebate on
their eligible operating costs.
Muintir has
also recently launched the Cairde mobile app, designed to connect, secure and
empower communities.
It is curious to reflect that Cork, a merchant city surrounded by water, might once have thirsted for fresh water to drink and that the solution came from a “little republic”, to be found just a short walk from the city centre. For this is a lesser told story, a behind-the-scenes secret, yet an essential ingredient to the prosperity of Cork City’s rapidly growing population in Victorian times.
