Postmasters warn of closure of 40% of post offices without increased funding

RTÉ News​

6 hours ago

Postmasters have warned that 40% of post offices could close unless Government funding for the network is increased.
The Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) is calling for a 50% increase in state funding to €15 million per year over five years to secure the network.
Currently, the network receives €10 million annually but the Irish Postmasters Union says this is not adequate.
The IPU's general secretary Sandra Tormey told the Oireachtas Communications Committee that 108 postmasters are earning less than the minimum wage when costs are taken out.
She said a poll of members revealed the scale of the problem.
"If the Government funding stays the same at €10 million, 40% will have to close. We've had to absorb 30% minimum wage increases and 15% inflation.
"We cannot increase our prices to make our businesses viable. We cannot avail of any supports that Government gives because we are deemed services and not retailers."
She said that if funding was increased to €15 million, 70% of members could envisage a viable future.
The Union says that this funding would help expand access to in-person public services and support identity verification and fraud prevention for departments and agencies.
Fine Gael Micheál Carrigy said his family post office in Ballinalee in Co Longford would close if funding was not increased.
"I would be one of the 40% who would go if funding wasn't in place, the ten million has worked. As a postmaster, we need that €15 million, not just me, but hundreds of other offices and communities across the country."
An Post chief executive David McRedmond said the semi-state was the conduit between the IPU and the Government but he added that it supported the IPU getting an increase in funding.
He pointed to a 32% decline in transactions since 2019.