‘We will find it very difficult once the post office is gone’
THE COMMUNITY of Camolin will suffer a huge loss next year when the Post Office will close its doors due to An Post offering postmasters a voluntary retirement package.
Parish priest Fr Joe Kavanagh said the closure of Camolin Post Office will be extremely difficult, especially for the people who collect their pension every week.
‘Unfortunately, it is something we can do nothing about,’ said Fr Kavanagh. ‘We will find it very difficult once it is gone.’
So far, a total of 161 rural postmasters in Ireland will close after applying for the retirement package, including Camolin Post Office, which has stood in the village for 51 years. It is believed once postmasters and postmistresses retire, they will not be replaced.
Businessman and chairperson of Camolin Development Association Jack Redmond is disappointed at the loss of the post office in Camolin.
‘I feel it is going to be huge loss for a village that is about to be bypassed,’ said Jack. ‘I see the older generation walking to the post office every Friday morning, it will be a big disadvantage for them.
‘Eventually, rural areas will just be a school and a church. We need to get more business into the area, rather than close them down.’
Councillor Malcolm Byrne hopes to try and come up with some sort of a solution.
‘Communities losing a post office is pretty serious and it will mean that those who use it will have to travel to a major town,’ said Cllr Byrne. ‘Camolin is a reasonably sized village and it is a big concern that the post office is closing.’
In an interview on Morning Ireland RTÉ Radio 1, MD of An Post Retail Debbie Byrne said she expects most of the 161 rural of- fices listed would close at the end of the current consultation period and that the postmasters/postmistresses were in line to receive between €6,000 to €80,000 each depending on length of service. She also indicated that closures may eventually be on the way in urban areas as well, with two outlets consolidated into one.
In a statement, An Post confirmed that as part of its Post Office Transformation Programme and €50 million investment in the post office network, they have offered current postmasters a choice between an exit deal with a two-year salary pay-off or a new seven-year contract which, after three years, has no guarantee that incomes will not drop. The full list of post offices closing will be issued at the end of August once the details have been confirmed with each Postmaster.
An Post, the Irish Postmasters Union and postmasters are in agreement that the consolidation of the network and the subsequent transfer of business to neighbouring offices is essential to the sustainability of the overall network and the continued provision of services in local communities. Mail delivery and collection services are not affected.
An Post reaffirms its commitment that communities of over 500 people will have a post office and that over 95 per cent of the population will be within 15km of at least one post office. All island post offices are being retained.
To meet the above coverage commitments, An Post will also publish at the end of August a target list of new post office locations.
In many of the locations where postmasters wish to retire, services such as stamps, bill payment, mobile top-up and TV License renewal will continue to be available through the PostPoint counter facility in local shops.
Ms Byrne said the news marks a key point on the journey towards a stronger post office network.
‘Some closures were inevitable in a network that has been largely unchanged for many years,’ said Ms Byrne. ‘ The consolidation of post office business will strengthen the remaining post offices, and the development of a wide range of new services over the coming months and years will see a reinvigorated network across 950 post offices.’