Potential closure of over 150 post offices constitutes a direct assault on rural Ireland - Troy
Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy has said that the government should not, and must not, allow the closure of up to 150 post offices in rural Ireland.
Deputy Troy was commenting after an unverified list was put into the public domain which showed many post offices were at risk of closure due to their post master or mistress deciding to take voluntary redundancy.
“Let me be clear - postmasters and mistresses who opt to take the redundancy package are absolutely entitled to do so.
"They have given years of fantastic service to their communities.
“However, An Post and the government cannot be allowed to use these redundancies as a smokescreen to close the post offices.
“This would constitute a direct attack on these communities and on rural Ireland.
"As a postmaster in my community, I am keenly aware of the pressures faced in keeping rural post offices open.
"Under the current system the business is simply not there in many areas; this is why I have been advocating for some time that greater services need to be offered as part of the An Post network.
“Taking away the state harp from over the door signals the state’s withdrawal from the village and effectively tells people that the state no longer sees that village as a viable place to live and work.
"There is a domino effect when it comes to the removal of state services from villages and rural towns.
“Fundamentally, this is the government admitting publicly that living in these communities will not be supported by the state.
“Fianna Fáil believes that the department should initiate a Public Service Obligation (PSO) to keep these at risk post offices open and to maintain the post office network at current levels.
“Minister Naughten cannot allow these decisions to be made solely on the basis of profit margins.
"Rural post offices deliver a service that cannot be measured in profit and loss.
“Fine Gael must come clean and explain why they are allowing this to happen.
"In particular they need to explain to the 150 rural communities why they are being targeted on this occasion,” concluded Deputy Troy.