Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 24 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport

An Post: Chairperson Designate

Photo of Cathal CroweCathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Bolger to the meeting and I congratulate her on her appointment. I hope its ratification will be a formality. I join previous speakers in congratulating Ms Bolger, Mr. Angus Laverty and their team for their engagement with us over the years, particularly during the Covid pandemic.

On post office consolidation, 190 post offices closed in the past two and half years. This has a devastating impact on rural communities. The last post office to close in County Clare was at Broadford, just a few miles back from my home. Under the consolidation plans of An Post, post offices will serve a 15 km radius. How does Ms Bolger see that progressing? Given that the Broadford post office is closed, does this mean that the post office 15 km away or within the 15 km catchment will be saved? Is it about the survival of the fittest, whereby if one falls, the other one is saved?

With regard to the €2 million or €3 million investment that is planned for the post office network, what weighting is given to PostPoints, which may be situated at the back of a shop, versus the physical traditional post office building? PostPoints are great for picking up a few stamps or have a personal weighed and sent off but they do not add real value in terms of the full suite of post office services.

The deal struck by An Post with Bank of Ireland has certainly been a win from a consumer's point of view as people in small villages can carry out banking services at a post office hatch. It has not, however, been a win for postmasters because the post office has largely become an agency bank. The stickers of Bank of Ireland and An Post are visible around the window hatch, but in real terms the service is only worth about €1,200, on average, per postmaster. I hope Ms Bolger will address some of those points in her response.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.