The Department for Social Development has stressed that people who wish to collect benefits from Post Offices will still be able to do so after April 2003.
The Department hit back at claims that the new system of direct payment will impact on rural post offices.
A spokesman said: “Some rural Post Offices may be under threat from closure however this is not as a result of Direct Payment, which is the new method of paying benefits.
Read MoreAN Post insisted yesterday that the elderly and disabled will continue to get mail delivered to their door — even if the outdoor letter boxes are introduced. This follows revelations the company plans to end door-to door deliveries countrywide and bring in secure outdoor letter boxes that could save it up to €35 million a year.
Read MoreUnited Parcel Service Inc. asked the California Supreme Court not to expand the number of investors who can bring securities suits in a case involving its Fritz Cos. unit.
Fritz shareholders saw their stock fall by half after the company said merger costs in 1996 were higher than expected. Investors sued, saying they would have sold shares if they’d known about the problems. Under current securities laws, only shareholders who bought or sold stock can sue.
Read MoreThe Spanish postal sector is once again the scene of a fierce battle, with around 200 companies, under the umbrella of Asempre, the Spanish association of correspondence delivery companies, demanding that the government deregulate the postal activities of its various ministries. The association has sent letters to all the ministries demanding that Correos, the Spanish post office, loose its monopoly on delivering adverts, publicity and mail for the government departments
Read MoreRoyal Mail was attacked for deciding to mothball a 75-year-old underground railway system which carries millions of bags of post every year.
The company said it could not afford to continue operating Mail Rail in London, which it estimated cost four times as much as transporting post by road.
The Communication Workers Union said it was angry at management’s “total disregard” for the 76 employees who work on the system, which runs for 10km through central London, 21 metres below ground.
Royal Mail said talks were now under way with a range of businesses about the future of the tracks, trains and tunnels.
Read MorePlans to introduce end-of-driveway letter boxes to homes across the Republic of Ireland would not constitute a blow to rural communities, it was claimed yesterday.
The proposal to end door-to-door deliveries and place mail in new outdoor boxes instead is part of a bid by postal company An Post to cut costs and speed up services.
It was revealed that orders have been placed for around half-a-million boxes, although the plan is yet to receive the green light from postal regulators.
Read MoreLondon Mayor Ken Livingstone accused the Post Office of “the worst kind of corporate greed” yesterday for failing to help him set up his congestion charge scheme.
From February 17, motorists will have to pay a £5 fee to drive into central London in a bid to cut traffic and raise funds to be ploughed into public transport.
Yesterday, Mr Livingstone said that negotiations for post offices to become official registering points for the scheme collapsed because of a massive last-minute price rise.
Read MorePostmaster General John E. Potter this week shifted the Postal Service’s IT organization around by naming Robert Otto the new chief technology officer.
Otto replaces Charlie Bravo, who became senior vice president for Intelligent Mail and Address Quality. Otto also will retain the title of senior vice president for Information Technology, essentially making him the CIO and CTO.
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