POSTMASTERS HAVE warned of massive post office closures unless the Government acts to ensure that most social welfare payments are made through the network.
The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) says the future of the post office network depends on the retention of social welfare business.
It wants the Government, which is currently reviewing the social welfare contract, to commit to post offices as the providers of choice for the delivery of welfare payments.
Any reduction in the size of the network should be effected on a planned and voluntary basis with agreed “exit packages” on the table for retiring postmasters, the union said at its annual conference in Mullingar yesterday.
The IPU has also called for the implementation of a Public Service Obligation (PSO) that recognises the social value of post offices in sparsely populated areas.
It says 500 post offices have closed in the past eight years and the fate of the remainder is heavily dependent on holding on to social welfare contracts.
However, the share of social welfare payments handled by post offices has declined from 80 per cent in 1998 to 55 per cent in 2005 as customers have opted to have payments sent directly to their bank accounts.
The union plans to enlist the support of other groups to build support for its position.
At its conference, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, Dermot Clifford, called on the Government to recognise the social value of the network by introducing a PSO for some rural offices.
Archbishop Clifford described the social contribution of post offices to local communities as priceless and irreplaceable and appealed to priests to support the network.
“The local post office is a vital link between the citizen and the State and in many places it is the only link left. Every citizen is entitled to have the services of the post office available to him or her at a reasonable distance – and a clear national policy on this is urgently needed.”
Mairéad Bushnell, national president of the St Vincent de Paul, told the conference that disadvantaged groups would find their social position worsened if the Government failed to ensure adequate access to services in all parts of the country.
John Kane, general secretary of the IPU, said social welfare payments accounted for 40 per cent of the business of post offices but their decline has had a “double whammy” effect on the network because many claimants use the BillPay service provided by An Post. “As many offices are operating on a very thin margin (the average net income in 2005 was €13,000 per office), decline in social welfare business leaves a large number vulnerable to swift decline and closure,” Mr Kane said.
Government policy in relation to the network was vague, he claimed, and this allowed politicians to support the principle of retaining post offices “while at the same time not actually doing anything about it”.
“It also means that closures are taking place in an ad hoc manner and are not driven by any restructuring plan.” The IPU was not saying that all post offices should remain open, he added.
“While we recognise that not all rural post offices are viable as we have become a more urbanised society, there needs to be a policy in terms of what the minimum geographic service area should be.”