Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The post office in Ireland has seen many changes. It was established in the 16th century when it served just Dublin and a small number of major towns. The postal service developed over the years from the days of the bellman and the post boy, to the mail coach, the mail train, the mail boat and eventually to airmail.

Throughout its evolving history, the post office consistently played a crucial role in the development of Ireland and met every challenge with a determination to overcome it. It has never changed and it is now up to the Government to ensure it never will. The challenges facing post offices today are unlike any they have faced in the past. The world of today demands that the post office carve out a new future for itself to ensure it continues to provide the services people need and demand.

There are more than 900 post offices and they are used by 1.3 million people each week. Studies have indicated that post offices are used more frequently and regularly by people living in rural areas. Figures from 2019 show that 36% of people in Ireland live in what are considered to be rural areas. This is a significantly higher number than the European Union average, yet the number of people who are traditionally considered to use post offices the most are not doing so to the extent they could. The reason for that is that the post office is not offering them the enhanced range of services they need to conduct their business in the modern world. This needs to change or the institution that is the post office will be consigned to the history books.

Due to the use of technology and the emergence of rapid courier services, revenue from letter and parcel delivery is minuscule now compared with the major source of post office revenue it was in the past. However, post offices have effectively handled the distribution of some €4.6 million in social welfare payments, a large proportion of which is in dispersed rural communities. This in turn benefits local businesses because, in general, money being collected locally results in it being spent locally. If post offices can efficiently handle vital social welfare payments, it goes without saying that this should and could lead to them handling a wide range of other services.

Post offices are ready and willing to work to save their future, but the facility to add the provision of additional services required by the public has not been made available to them. The Government and its agencies have not lived up to their promises to empower An Post with new tasks and projects, particularly in the area of financial services. The Government has been too slow to encourage these developments. A prime example of that is the fact that post offices were not offered an option for the collection of the pandemic unemployment payment. This oversight saw billions of euro channelled through banks despite research proving that making payments directly into a person's bank account can lead to up to 20% of it being spent outside the country.

As things stand, average losses of €19,000 are forecast per post office each year from 2021 onwards, impacting on the viability of post offices throughout the country. It costs €70 million to run the post office network. The network generates approximately €53 million in revenue, leaving a shortfall of €17 million. There is a small window of opportunity to help post offices. Once that window closes, it will never be reopened. No Government will wish to see the doors of post offices close forever. No Government will wish to leave that legacy. Post offices are willing to fight and work for their future. The Government needs to give them that chance and opportunity. Urgent and meaningful action is required.

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