Contract loss could lead to Irish post office cull

Hundreds of post offices across Ireland could be forced to close if national operator An Post loses its contract to provide social welfare payments. That was the view of Brian McGann, general secretary of the Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU), in light of the possibility of the Department of Social Protection putting the contract out to tender.

According to reports, the Department is currently considering what action to take, with a decision expected shortly.

Losing the contract would have a disastrous effect on the post office network, McGann said at the IPU annual conference earlier this week.

Reporting from the conference, The Irish Times cited McGann as saying: “Any decision to move away from using the Post Office as the primary channel for making social welfare payments will be politically disastrous on the scale of Charlie McCreevy’s ill-fated plan to decentralise government departments.

“Many social welfare recipients want to use their local post offices because it’s friendly, convenient and accessible.

“Local post offices also play a vital role in preventing fraud because of the face-to-face nature of its role. Postmasters are highly committed to detecting and stamping out fraud. We see the people, meet the people and we know them because they are part of our community.

“This deters fraudsters who often rely on faceless, impersonal systems of payment to perpetrate their fraud.”

An Post currently has 1,100 post offices across the Republic of Ireland.

The UK government was attacked in March after it announced Post Office Ltd had lost its contract to provide welfare payments.

The Department for Work & Pensions awarded Citibank a new ‘over-the-counter’ service at PayPoint outlets from 2012, in a contract that is worth around £20m a year.

The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) described the news as “bitterly disappointing”, whilst the Communication Workers Union (CWU) labelled the move as a “betrayal of Britain’s most vulnerable”.

Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “This is a cut too far. Taking government business away from the Post Office on top of privatising Royal Mail… will cause the biggest closure programme we’ve ever seen.

“What they take away in revenue, the government will either have to give back through subsidy or promote mass closures.”

Do you use An Post’s services? How will the loss of the contract affect the post office network? Please comment below…