Post a card or write a letter this Christmas –
Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan-Monaghan Niamh Smyth is urging people to use their local Post Office this Christmas. It comes in the wake of recent reports that as many as 600 Post Offices are facing closure because they have been deemed “economically unviable”.
Deputy Smyth explained, “Post Offices, particularly ones in rural areas, provide important local services, but they are also meeting places for older people and people living in remote or isolated areas. However, over the last number of years, the number of people using the Post Office has declined and services have suffered.
“Christmas is a great time to make use of our local Post Office. I’m urging people to go offline and write a letter or send a Christmas card to their friends and loved ones. Unless we use the services in our Post Offices we’ll face the prospect of not only reduced services, but also the possibility that these branches could close for good.
“Unfortunately, Fine Gael has done little to support our Post Offices. Despite promising to “actively encourage payments at Post Offices”, the Department of Social Protection continues to issue letters stating that social welfare payments can be lodged directly into bank accounts. This is further undermines the Post Office service and erodes people’s reliance on their local branch.
“Fianna Fáil has always recognised the importance of the Post Office and is committed to protecting its future. We want to see the number of services increased so that the network can be expanded. We have suggested the addition of motor tax and agricultural payments as well as the maintenance of the register of electors to the current list of services that are offer.
“Unless we begin using our Post Office services, they will continue to decline and even be lost entirely. I’m urging people make an effort this Christmas to use the services in their local Post Office and send a message to the Government that these are essential services that cannot be undermined or lost”.