Waterford councillors call to ensure post office sustainability
Waterford councillors have called on the Government to take ‘urgent’ action to ensure the sustainability of the existing community post office network.
A motion put forward at the recently reconvened Waterford City and County Council Plenary meeting by Councillor Declan Clune, called on ministers to ‘urgently enact’ the 2016 private members’ motion regarding the future of the post office network.
“There are significant challenges facing the post office network, particularly in rural areas. They’re not just a place for posting letters and parcels, in many cases, particularly in rural areas, where people meet weekly, maybe not so much now with Covid, but generally that would be the scenario, so the value of post offices cannot be underestimated,” Cllr Clune said.
He went on to note that the network has been ‘failed by successive Governments’ despite several reports which have provided a roadmap to sustainability
KEY TO KEEPING COMMUNITIES STRONG
Local councillor, James Tobin from Tallow, also supported the motion, stating that since the pandemic, post office’s have never been busier.
“The amount of mail and parcels that are going through, the post office has been transformed, the whole network has been transformed over the past couple of months,” Cllr Tobin said.
Councillor John Pratt commended the motion, highlighting how in his local area of Tallow, the loss of a bank highlighted the importance of the post office network.
“I’ve looked into Ballyduff where they’ve lost their post office and lost nearly everything that they’ve had, unfortunately. It’s so important to retain what we have,” Cllr Pratt said.
He also acknowledged the important part played by postmen and women during the pandemic and recognised how they have helped people in rural isolation.
“They are sometimes people’s first point of contact and the only point of contact, so I commend Cllr Clune for brining it (the motion) and I strongly support it,” Cllr Pratt added.
A ‘SUSTAINED ATTACK’ ON RURAL IRELAND
Councillor Conor McGuinness claimed that the post office network has ‘suffered from serious neglect’ from successive governments.
“This has resulted in a loss of really vital outlets, hubs and services right across rural Ireland,” Cllr McGuinness said.
He highlighted that a 2016 motion called for an action plan but also called for community banking, which was rejected, which Cllr McGuinness stated would be ‘timely’ to look further into considering that Ulster Bank is now pulling out of Ireland.
“With the recent news of Ulster Bank preparing to leave the banking market in Ireland, it has never been more timely and more important that we would look again at a system of community-based or public banking,” he added.
The motion was seconded by Councillor John O’Leary who claimed that there has been a ‘sustained attack’ on rural towns and villages in Waterford and around the country where almost 200 post offices have closed over the past years.
“This has hit at the core of people in rural areas. Elderly people now are depending on the goodwill of others to access post office services for them,” Cllr O’Leary said.
He went on to call for the reconsideration of some closures which have already taken place in order to give elderly people ‘the service that they are entitled to’.
The motion proposed that members of Waterford City and County Council would call upon the Minister for Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan; the Minister of Finance, Paschal Donohoe and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, to ‘urgently enact’ the 2016 motion.
The motion was unanimously agreed by councillors in attendance at the reconvened plenary meeting.