It’s been a long standing cause in Wexford to see a post
office in the largest parish in the county.
Clonard doesn’t have a post office.
Year after year, An Post has been lobbied by the former Wexford Borough
Council to see what could be done about providing a post office service in
Wexford Town’s largest suburb.
An Post do have a substantial sorting office in Wexford at
Clonard from where it sorts and distributes post around the town. Councillors have argued that An Post should
provide post office services from the sorting office in Whitemill Industrial
Estate. Such an office would provide
easier access for customers to postal and banking services saving especially
elderly people a long walk downhill into town, or more importantly a walk up
hill home. An Post have seen their way
to providing some postal services at the office in 2016, but interestingly now
some opposition to the plan is forthcoming from the Post Masters Union.
The Post Masters Union is an association of shop keepers who
provide sub offices from their premises in parishes up and down the
country. 18 months ago the post masters
nationally signed a contract to continue providing social welfare services for
the next 6 years. This contract is seen
as being vital to the viability of post offices especially those in rural
areas.
The reality that the last government closed 99 post offices
in their time in office and that closures since 2011 are less than 20 under the
present government cuts no ice with the post masters. They want to stall the An Post plans to
extend services from sorting offices and prefer to see rural services
prioritised.
But where are customers from Clonard expected to go? There is no sub office convenient to the
area. Stalling the plan only continues
the hardship to people in Clonard. I find
it hard to believe that deferring the provision of postal services from
Whitemill can impact on any rural post office.
Most of their potential customers presently access services in Wexford’s
main post office.
I wonder is the campaign by the post masters more about
retaining the commercial profitability of their business rather than providing
local post office services to their customers? Since 2011 just one post office in County
Wexford has closed. Yet we have had scaremongering
that government is going to close post offices.
In the same time convenience shopping has seen enormous change with
German cost cutters growing at the expense of all other competitors. The viability of the local shop come post
office is under threat because customers are driving to where prices are
considerably lower. But the viability of
many shops that don’t have a sub post office are under the exact same threat. These businesses don’t have the crutch of the
pension day payments or Christmas bonuses to boost sales.
It’s time that shop keepers who own a sub post office came
out and say it and stop hiding behind unfounded fears of loss of service. In the meantime, let’s get our sub post
office in Clonard.
