Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Anne Rabbitte. An Post is planning on selling off its beautiful art deco building which has been the home of Rathmines post office for almost 90 years and is an iconic building in the heart of Rathmines. In one fell swoop, the actions of An Post will mean that this building will be lost to the Rathmines community and An Post will privatise the postal services in Rathmines. This is a vital service particularly for older people and the many small businesses in Rathmines. An Post is selling off the family jewels and privatising the essential postal services in one go. It needs to stop. The Government needs to intervene to end this recklessness. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications is also a TD for the area so he is well aware of the challenges and difficulties it will pose to people in the community. Rathmines post office is a vital part of the social infrastructure. The community has already lost a number of important services. This is another big blow for the community in Rathmines. Many members of the public have expressed their anger about the decision to privatise the service. A large number of older residents on Rathmines Avenue use the service in this post office and it is not clear where they will have to go to now.

Forty-five of the existing staff will be redeployed to another location. It is not clear whether the services being delivered in Rathmines post office at present will be delivered at the new location.

How can giving such an essential service to a private operator be good for the community? It will mean that the postal service will be attached firmly to the success or otherwise of the private owner. If the private operator decides to close the office or feels it is not for them, the postal services will most likely go from Rathmines. This has happened in many communities across my constituency of Dublin Bay South, and those communities are now without a post office. This happened most recently in Kevin Street, where the private operator no longer wanted the post services in a shop. That had a major impact on so many older people in the Kevin Street, New Street and New Street Gardens areas. Now they have no post office at all. The nearest one is quite a trek for older people to have to make in their older years.

Another huge concern for residents in Rathmines is the selling off of the magnificent building which is the home of the current post office. It is a historical building and it will be sold off and lost to the State forever. This is a really short-sighted decision. This could be transformed into a hub for community groups. There are so many uses it could be put to by the local community. It could be the heartbeat of Rathmines, but this Government just wants to sell and privatise everything and let the community pick up the pieces. This Government is effectively asset-stripping the local community not just in Rathmines but right across the inner city.

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