An Post workers to check in on elderly and deliver medical supplies and food

And they will even bring you your newspaper in gesture of goodwill!

THE postmen and women of Ireland will lend a helping hand to older and vulnerable people in the Covid-19 crisis by getting groceries and medical supplies – and even delivering newspapers.

The gesture of goodwill comes as An Post prepares to send out a HSE booklet on the coronavirus to every household in the country, which the 4,500 postmen and postwomen will deliver free of charge.

The initiative is being led by the Communications Workers’ Union and An Post.

During the period of crisis, the staff of the postal service will also be taking letters, cards and parcels from older people who might be afraid to venture to a post box and delivering them to their destination free of charge.

The charitable gesture includes plans to start delivering newspapers to every address in the country with the aim of providing the public with information from reliable sources.

These are all on top of the An Post promise to keep people connected by giving two free postcards to every home in the country – two million of which have been delivered already, with three million more to go out.

The postal workers of Ireland will begin their, at least, weekly checkins with the more vulnerable and isolated among us today.

They will be asking a set list of questions which will be relayed back to the HSE so that vulnerable people can get vital medical supplies without risking a run to the pharmacy.

An Post will also be helping to deliver groceries and other necessities to the older members of the population.

‘Postal workers have always been central to their communities and are anxious to help this national effort to get us through this crisis,’ said Stevie Fitzpatrick, general secretary of the Communications Workers’ Union.

‘They have come up with these great ideas for community support that the CWU is now putting in place with An Post and the Government.’

Mr Fitzpatrick said postal delivery staff ‘know their customers better than anyone, particularly in rural areas’, adding: ‘They’re trusted and they very often have a well-established rapport with many people living alone in isolated areas.

‘These are unprecedented times that require cross-community solidarity from all of us to support the vulnerable and older people, and particularly those who may not have a strong family support network close by.

‘The postal service, and the work of postmen and women, has for generations been a glue in our communities that not only delivers a vital service, but also maintains daily contact within our communities.’

Mr Fitzpatrick said this idea came from ‘suggestions made to their union by ordinary postal workers up and down the country’. He added: ‘The CWU is pleased to support this important initiative.’

On their plans to deliver newspapers to every household in the country, an An Post spokesperson said: ‘The plan is that we would be able to deliver national or local newspapers to householders as well.

‘And again, particularly for people in rural areas who might not be able to run out to the shop or might not be online to get news.

‘This is in itself an important service and would make a real difference to people’s lives who would get the local paper every week or whatever it might be. It would mean a lot to them in terms of keeping in touch.’

The CWU has said that the newspaper service will start next week and that an online register will go live over the weekend. It has not yet been decided if it will be free or not.

The CEO of An Post, David McRedmond, said: ‘We have a number of ideas and initiatives that have come up from postmen and postwomen through their union, the Communications Workers’ Union, which is led by Stevie Fitzpatrick.

‘Between them, they’ve come up with a number of initiatives that can really help. The first is to help connect the community. So postmen and women will not just deliver the post, they will call in on older and vulnerable people living in the communities – being a practical and trusted person usually known to those people – to help them, and they will go in with a set of questions.’

He added that these questions will include: ‘Do they need food, do they need pharmacy supplies, do they need to send out messages?’ Mr McRedmond continued: ‘The postmen and postwomen will then take that back and we will look after that and make sure that that gets fulfilled.’

The Covid-19 booklet, which is to be delivered in the coming days, will include information on how the Government is responding to the crisis, the symptoms of coronavirus, and how you should self-isolate.

‘Central to their communities’ ‘We have a number of ideas’