Protest rally in bid to save Post Offices
PROTESTERS from the north west region turned out in their hundreds on Saturday to rally against the closure of post offices in Sligo and further afield.
Twenty-one post offices in the north west are due to close.
Speakers at the rally included Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council Cllr Martin Baker, Cllr Chris Mc Manus speaking on behalf of Sinn Féin, Kathleen Henry, Secretary for the IFA in Sligo, TD Marc MacSharry speaking on behalf of Fianna Fáil, Vanessa Clarke from Community Alert Development Northern Region, local Activist Roger Meehan from Dunkineally in Co Donegal, Peter Kavanagh head of Communications &Public Affairs for the Active Retirement Ireland, Cllr Sinéad Maguire who will speak on behalf of Fine Gael and Gerry Loftus of the Mayo branch of the Irish Nature and Hill Farmers Association.
Deputy MacSharry said: “Silence from the Government is deafening as the Taoiseach and Minister Naughten remain silent and idle as closures begin.
He added: “The closure of these post offices results from what was presented as a necessary retirement package for long serving postmasters but the reality is clear now that the Government used An Post and the Irish Postmasters’ Union to shut down 162 local post offices nationwide instead of providing the necessary supports to keep them open.”
“Everybody acknowledges that An Post has a commercial mandate and must balance the books. Equally everyone accepts the Postmasters’ Union’s mandate and entitlement to negotiate a retirement package for long serving members.
“They do not have a mandate to negotiate for communities.
“The Government must direct a stay on all Post Office closures until such time as the Oireachtas debate this matter with a view to providing the necessary €8m in subvention to maintain our existing post office network.”
Committee members from Ballygawley and Easkey’s campaigns to save their respective post offices were also present on the day to lend their support.
“Today we stand for our villages, our future and most of all for rural Ireland.
“So Minister Naughten and An Post management this is an SOS from Sligo,” Cllr. Thomas Healy told the rally.
It is understood that more post office closures could be in the pipeline.