A RALLYING call has gone out to communities and elected local representatives to support rural post offices threatened with closure.
Cllr Lisa Marie Sheehy (SF) tabled a motion for this month’s meeting of Limerick City and County Council asking for the support of the local authority members.
“Post offices must be protected. They are a core cornerstone of local services. Post office closures come along with rural bank closures,which represents another hammering. So much has been stripped from our rural communities and we are fighting back with community initiatives. Rural communities depend on these post offices. They provide a social service. It will be the final nail in the coffin after the closures of Garda stations, bank branches and shops,” she said.
Cllr Seamus Browne (SF), who seconded the motion, said that the smaller the village, the more important its post office was.
“It is the smaller communities that will be affected most and equally likely it will be those smaller post offices that will be targeted. I hope every political party will oppose the closures. You can tell the difference in rural communities. The next thing to go after the post office is the local shop,” he said.
Cllr Daniel Butler (FG) said that the Government signed a multimillion contract with post offices last week for the payment of social welfare.
“I would call on local communities to use their post offices. If you don’t use it, you lose it. They have an impressive range of services but you have to use them.
William O’Donnell (FG) pointed out that in many small towns there was a shop that wasn’t viable and a post office that wasn’t viable and he called on An Post to look at amalgamating those services.
Kevin Sheahan (FF) said there was great merit in the UK system of having a shop and post office on same premises.
“In rural Ireland, small shops are disappearing. People should spend their money in their own communities if at all possible,” he said.
