Postmasters encourage public to take part
Postmasters are calling on communities, organisations and individuals to make their views heard in a public consultation on post offices.
The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) that said a public consultation on developing the future of post offices will take place for the next six weeks following the launch of an Interim report of the Bobby Kerr-chaired post office Network Business Development Group.
The IPU welcomed the Bobby Kerr report and its suggestions on additional financial, government, social and while label services and products which could be delivered through post offices.
Consultation forms are on the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources website at www.dcenr.gov.ie (in Communications/Postal/post office Network Business Development Group).
However, the IPU also said that the government needs to join up its thinking and withdraw new Social Protection Forms – issued last month – which recommend people use the commercial banks rather than post offices to receive their payments.
IPU Executive member and midlands spokesperson Vincent Harney said: “The greatest threat to the post office network at this time is the ongoing government policy to migrate Social Protection Payments, which are 30% of post office business, to the commercial banks.
“This threat is much larger than what any new business which the Bobby Kerr group may bring.
“Last month the Department of Social Protection issued new welfare forms to take away business from post offices and then today we have ideas for new business in the Bobby Kerr report.
“The Departments of Communications and Social Protection need to talk and take a joined up approach. We are calling on Minister Burton to withdraw the new forms and for her Department to stop encouraging our core customers to use banks instead of the post office,” he said.
The Bobby Kerr group will take public submissions until the end of July and then submit its final report to the Minister for Communications, Alex White, in September.
Earlier this year, the IPU submitted its six point plan to protect the post office network and support local communities to government providing solutions on what can be done to support post offices and keep them as local businesses at the heart of communities.
At the IPU’s Annual Conference last May members voted in favour of running political candidates in the next general election. Since then numerous Community and post office candidates have been identified to run and details will be announced in the coming weeks.