Cllr Bree warned of postal closures due to EU Directive
HUNDREDS of local residents attended a public meeting in Cliffoney Hall on Thursday evening last in support of a campaign to retain the local post office in the village.
John Rooney, who presided at the event, said the capacity attendance reflected the level of concern in the local community since news of the threatened closure became public.
A large number of elected public representatives attended and spoke including Sligo County Councillors Seamus Kilgannon, Mayor of Sligo Municipal District Rosaleen O’Grady, Declan Bree, Hubert Keaney, Sinead Maguire, Marie Casserly, Gino O’Boyle, Chris MacManus, Thomas Healy and Sligo-Leitrim Deputy Marc MacSharry.
Cllr Declan Bree told the meeting the threatened closure of Cliffoney Post Office was part of an overall plan by An Post to close up to 200 rural post offices in the country.
“I remember speaking at a Council meeting some time back warning that the E.U. Postal Services Directive, if transposed into Irish law would open up postal services to private companies. I warned, and indeed the Communications Workers Union warned that this would lead to the private sector cherry picking profitable postal services while An Post would be expected to maintain and subsidise the less profitable services which would eventually lead to post office closures,” he said.
“Unfortunately the main parties in the Dáil went ahead and adopted the E.U. Directive and since then we have witnessed the continuous closure of rural post offices.
“In addition to organising locally to oppose the closure it is important that the Cliffoney committee link up with groups in Ballinfull, Gurteen, Dromard, Monasteradan and the many other areas in the region where closures are threatened.
“The Public Banking Forum and people like Seamus Maye have pointed out how rural post offices can be sustained by allowing them to provide a community banking service.
“We now need to let the government know that the closure of our rural post offices is unacceptable,” said Cllr Bree.