Naughten urged to introduce a public levy to save post offices
THE Government has been urged to intervene to prevent the closure of rural post offices as Communications Minister Denis Naughten warned the postal network was on the brink of collapse last year.
Fianna Fáil called on the Government to introduce a public service obligation charge – like the one levied on all electricity users – to fund An Post. The party claims such a move would cost the taxpayer €8m annually.
The party will bring forward a motion to preserve the network and has challenged Fine Gael TDs who have opposed the closures to show support and ensure the motion, if passed, leads to a tangible result.
Rural TDs from all parties have hit out at the planned closures after 159 postmasters opted to take voluntary redundancy. The changes will affect post offices in Co Carlow, Co Clare, Co Cork, Co Donegal, Co Galway, Co Kerry, Co Mayo, Co Tipperary and Co Wexford.
A special meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Communications Committee heard from representatives from An Post and Mr Naughten yesterday.
The minister defended the decisions taken to date as he warned that shirking decisions would lead to the collapse of the network.
The minister said that “97 weeks ago, I was presented with a future for An Post that was uncertain and extremely bleak”.
He said: “I was determined the company would not go under on my watch because of the failure to act by successive governments. I could have sat on my hands and ignored it and let hundreds of post offices continually close.
“If politically we shirk decision-making, we potentially ultimately will have no post office network at all.
“No minister wants to be in the position I am in today, but I’ve decided we need to have a viable future for the post office network. These are not decisions that have been taken lightly or without good reason,” he said.
The Rural Independents grouping also hit out at the planned closures and accused the Government of ignoring rural Ireland. The Government had pledged to rural-proof policies and had failed to do so, the group said.
Meanwhile, Seamus Maye, chairman of the Public Banking Forum of Ireland, warned the move would damage indigenous business.
“The current An Post proposals are bizarre and ill thoughtout, and would see the destruction of one of our best institutions,” he said.