Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour)

The CEO of An Post acknowledged that the post office network is vital to businesses and the social fabric of Irish society. The social dimension of An Post's services is under-estimated, misunderstood and misrepresented by An Post. If the CEO truly believed what he stated Kill post office would not have been closed. He showed disregard for the residents of the area by not even having the correct information, stating that the nearest post office was only four miles away when it is more than 10 km away with a round trip of more than 20 km. For people already struggling to collect pensions this is a considerable imposition. There are no rural transport links or Bus Éireann services to facilitate access to An Post services. Decisions on the closure of post offices cannot be made on economic imperatives alone. The social impact of something like this cannot be measured on a balance sheet.

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