Irish Postmasters’ Union to back “Post Office” candidates

Members of the Irish Postmasters’ Union have decided to support candidates standing at the next Irish General Election on the issue of “protecting the Post Office Network”. The IPU members voted in support of the political campaign at their annual conference in Kilkenny last weekend.

In a statement issued on Sunday (3 May), IPU General Secretary Ned O’Hara said a number of Postmasters and community activists in different parts of the country have already approached the Union to stand on the Post Office issue.

“They will run in their own right as Independent candidates and will now have the strength of Postmasters behind them,” said O’Hara. “These candidates will be supported by 1,100 Post Offices across the country who will be urging customers and communities to vote for the Post Office candidate over the Government parties.”

Galway Postmistress, Seona O’Fegan who has a Post Office in Barna, announced her interest in standing in the Galway West constituency at the Kilkenny conference, and the IPU said that more announcements expected.

“If the Government takes the necessary steps to protect the Post Office Network, it may not be necessary for the candidates to run. However, if there is not urgent progress, candidates and the constituencies they are running in will be announced after the summer,” O’Hara said.

Speaking from the conference, IPU President Ciarán McEntee called on the public to switch from receiving social protection payments by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to collecting their payments at the Post Office.

Currently, approximately half of social protection payments are paid by EFT and half at the Post Office, with the government aiming towards 97% electronic payment by the end of 2018.

The Union recently submitted a Six Point Plan to protect the Post Office Network and support local Communities to Government setting out it how it believes “Post Offices can be kept at the heart of communities”.

The IPU said that additional services which Postmasters want to provide to local communities include: A banking service; Motor Tax renewals; Driver Licence renewals; rates, rents and other Local Authority payments; hospital charges; electronic form generation; insurance quotations and pension savings.

“Concern about the future of the Post Office Network has been ongoing following an independent report by Grant Thornton last year which concluded that hundreds of Offices nationwide would close by 2017, mainly due to the change in the delivery of social protection payments to EFT,” said the IPU.

Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Alex White, addressed the IPU conference on Sunday and argued that “the post office network would only survive by harnessing the strengths of the network, and adapting to what is now a dynamic environment of evolving customer preferences and behaviour, together with rapid technological change”.

The Communications Minister warned that, while a sustained recovery will make the economic environment more favourable, it will not resolve all of the challenges that post offices face.

“This is because you are not simply responding to a cyclical business downturn. Rather, you are dealing with a fundamental shift in the way people communicate and conduct their financial affairs,” he argued. “I am convinced that our post office network can look to the future in a positive way.”

White said that the number of post office closures had slowed dramatically in the last four years. Between 2006 and 2010 there were almost 200 net post office closures, but there were only 24 between 2010 and 2014.

He added that post offices could create “a lifeline to local communities” by filling the gap caused by bank branch closures.

“Post offices could become the banks of rural Ireland, providing a one-stop service for family finance and small business,” said White. “This is already happening, with the acquisition of Aviva Ireland’s branch office business and an extended range of AIB services. Last month’s announcement of a partnership with Ulster Bank was also good news. This development needs to accelerate, and I believe that more needs to be done to raise public awareness that you can now do your banking at the local post office.”

Earlier this year, the Communications Minister set up a Post Office Network Business Development Group to explore further potential public and commercial business that post offices can pursue. The group is expect to report back later this year.

There are 1,140 Post Offices in Ireland, and just under 1,100 are operated by Postmasters.

There has been no date set for next Irish general election as yet, but it must take place no later than 3 April 2016.