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Coolboy Post Office in County Wicklow. Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

An Post CEO: 'Every community of over 500 people will have a post office'

David McRedmond rejected claims that post office closures are an attack on rural Ireland.

THE CEO OF An Post has said that the decision to close 159 post offices in rural areas is “the opposite of an attack on rural Ireland”.

The above charge was made by Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy but An Post CEO David McRedmond has said the changes being made will improve services for customers.

The company says that services in the closed post offices will be consolidated in the nearest available post office and McRedmond says this will help them offer a better service. 

“I appreciate that in many ways post offices are seen as a proxy for rural Ireland but what we’re doing is the opposite of an attack on rural Ireland,” McRedmond told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland

“Many of the issues in Ireland are blamed on a lack of planning, a lack of strategy. What we’re putting in place is a plan and a strategy to make sure that there’s an excellent post office service throughout Ireland, for all the years ahead. And that’s why we’re making the changes now.”

An Post says that all of the closing post offices are in locations where there are fewer than 500 people living and that 100 of them are in remote areas with fewer than 50 occupied dwellings. 

The 159 post offices that are to close are available here.  

McRedmond added that the company is pledging to have a post office in every community with more than 500 people. 

We’re now addressing the issue of post offices, which has been so neglected. And addressing that issue means having to make sure that post offices are viable. These are individual businesses run by postmasters and mistresses throughout the country, we’ve worked very closely with them. 

“We’ve made a commitment, which I don’t know of anywhere else has made as strong a commitment to rural areas anywhere else in Europe or anywhere else in the world, by saying that every community of over 500 people will have a post office, and it’s a very strong commitment.”

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    Mute The Grand Nagus
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    Aug 29th 2018, 3:53 PM

    That’s fair enough.

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    Mute Jim Ni Suilleabhain
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:25 PM

    @The Grand Nagus: hey An Post.

    How about a mobile post office for the elderly in smaller communities. Like the mobile libraries. A few hours once a week, would be a good meeting point for them too. Pay their bills etc.

    Could have a canopy and coffee/tea shot attached for make a few quid

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    Mute Charles McCarthy
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:29 PM

    @Jim Ni Suilleabhain: Enough of that kind of joined up thinking. Away with you. Irish solutions to irish problems.

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    Mute Seamus G
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:44 PM

    @Jim Ni Suilleabhain: will you subsidise it becuase it won’t wash its face?

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:50 PM

    @Jim Ni Suilleabhain: the insurance for a mobile post office would be insane unless it was cashless (no need to be compliant then), and if they were to go cashless they’d have to cut most of the services they offer like paying bills, selling postage, lottery, saving accounts, currency exchange, etc.

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    Mute Nucky
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:07 PM

    @The Grand Nagus: is it ? Cause communities with less then 500 probably don’t have a proper bus service either or a bank for that matter so there pensions can be paid directly into accounts

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    Mute The Grand Nagus
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:45 PM

    @Jim Ni Suilleabhain:
    Thats fair enough aswell Jim

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    Mute Eugene Tyson
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:12 PM

    There’s 178 post offices in Dublin, not one of them shut down. I understand they want to shut down post offices doing least business to save money. But there are other ways to save money than removing rural post offices that a lot of elderly would depend on, forcing them to travle further. Seems ill-thought out – could have shut a dozen post offices in Dublin and saved a few rural ones…

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    Mute John
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:17 PM

    @Eugene Tyson: so close down money making post offices to keep loss making ones open. Good job you are not in charge……also why does it always come down to Dublin vs rural?

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    Mute Gary
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:18 PM

    @Eugene Tyson: Because the 178 post offices in Dublin all serve communities well over 500 people. It’s quite simple really.

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    Mute Paul Kelleher
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:31 PM

    @Eugene Tyson: what an ill thought out comment. Your argument is flawed. Why would you close down profitable POs in Dublin to subsidise non profitable ones in rural areas when you have another one a couple of miles away with a greater array of services? Those pesky Dubs again eh!

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    Mute Rochelle
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:05 PM

    @Eugene Tyson: The problem is the idea of running essential services like a business in the first place. Something similar was proposed on many train lines in rural areas, it’s a very backwards approach from a government which invests almost solely in Dublin forcing residents out of rural areas and then uses that population decline as justification for cutting services in those areas.
    I’m not from a village or a townland but I still feel like we should be making some sort of effort to preserve them, as it stands it’s hard to see many of those areas without any services, broadband or transport surviving another generation.

    And on your point, they could have. Travelling 5km in Dublin is a breeze for anyone thanks to transport links but an impossible task for someone in a rural area without access to a car.

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    Mute Margate
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    Aug 29th 2018, 6:47 PM

    @John: Because it is. So what about the many Dublin Bus routes ” presenting” as ” viable” when in fact, the majority of their users are presenting Social Welfare Bus Passes- in one form or another, and I and all other tax payers fund them totally? Thats ok?? Its not ALL about NUMBERS, further analysis reveals much more..

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    Mute John
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    Aug 29th 2018, 7:16 PM

    @Margate: why don’t the people of rural Ireland pay the type of property tax that we in Dublin pay, a huge amount of the property tax collected in Dublin is sent down the country to prop up county councils that are broke. Maybe if rural Ireland did pay the same amount they could afford to keep these P.O. open and could then afford other local services that they always moan are non existent.

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    Mute emul8ter25
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    Aug 29th 2018, 7:49 PM

    @Rochelle: yet when the government tries to do something like build a new motorway all the locals are out protesting it.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:49 PM

    @John: wages in rural Ireland are far less than Dublin. To implement your policy would make it more sensible to join the dole instead, as such taxes wouldn’t be affordable. In other words, you’d force at least quarter of the country onto the dole. How do you think the country would afford that? And it’s not like they could sell their homes and move to Dublin, as there is such a lack of supply and house prices are so high that they wouldn’t be affordable anyway. The country needs joined up thinking. Maintaining rural viability would reduce the demand on housing stock in Dublin and the demand on jobs in Dublin, thereby reducing house prices and, hence, your taxes, as they are linked to house prices.

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    Mute Ciaran McGarrigle
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    Aug 29th 2018, 11:58 PM

    @Eugene Tyson: what do the elderly need post offices for?

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    Mute Caroline Broadhurst
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    Aug 29th 2018, 3:55 PM

    I think ye need to re-count, Clogheen has far more than 500 folk that live and use the Post Office facilities

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    Mute John Considine
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:43 PM

    @Caroline Broadhurst: This is actually an extremely good point. I’ve passed through Clogheen a number of times and, as villages go, it’s a decent size. So I figured I’d check it out on Eircode.ie and I stopped counting at 250 houses within the village proper, excluding the greater community entirely.

    As such there is almost no way it’s possible that the Post Office in question has a catchment population of less than 500 people. So while Mr McRedmond appears to be making a reasonable and well argued point he is actually just lying. I’m sure you’re all as stunned as I to find this out….

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Aug 29th 2018, 6:02 PM

    @Caroline Broadhurst: census of 2006 gave 509 people so there must be a lot more now.

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    Mute Hans Vos
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    Aug 29th 2018, 7:05 PM

    @Hans Vos: sorry Census 2016 Clogheen ,478 .

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    Mute Tim Pot
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:08 PM

    @Hans Vos:

    Ballyporeen and Ardfinan about 7km either side of clogheen. Its probably too close to them to be worth keeping open with all three having similar size populations.

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    Mute Willy Malone
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:12 PM

    More than 500 using a lot of the ones closed.. Pure lies…

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    Mute Tim Pot
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:30 PM

    @Willy Malone:

    How so?

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    Mute John Considine
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:46 PM

    @Tim Pot: Check the post above about Clogheen. More than 250 houses within the village alone, which anyone can verify by looking on eircode.ie. The man is plainly lying in this specific case and I’m quite sure it won’t be the only example either.

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    Mute Tim Pot
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:09 PM

    @John Considine: Is he though, 2016 census has less than 500 inhabitants?

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    Mute sinead foley-coleman
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    Aug 30th 2018, 11:09 AM

    @Tim Pot: has to be realized that population count taken only inside village/town speed limits. In our case speed limit is 300 meters from post office door so our population is supposedly 392 whereas the reality of the close hinterland population numbers was actually 3200!!! That criteria for closure was chosen so that more offices would fail the popilation limit. More realistic to have based it on transaction numbers

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    Mute Paul Kelleher
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:24 PM

    If the overall services will improve i think this is fair enough. Also the decision will strengthen the overall network. The nearest post office is generally going to be between 1 to 6 miles away from the closing PO. Thats not too bad and this is coming from someone who lives in a very rural area. I have 4 post offices within 15 minutes drive from my house. It certainly not an attack on rural Ireland as pedalled.

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    Mute Rochelle
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:06 PM

    @Paul Kelleher: What if you don’t have a car and the post office being closed was in walking distance? As is the case for many elderly.

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    Mute Fear Uisce
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:52 PM

    @Rochelle: have you driven the roads linking a c losing PO to it’s nearest? I have for one of the Cork ones and the road isn’t for the faint hearted

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    Mute Paul Kelleher
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    Aug 29th 2018, 7:05 PM

    @Rochelle: so by that logic every one that doesnt have a car should be able to walk to a post office? Ah here, come on get real!

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    Mute Joe Clery
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:41 PM

    Many of these are closing becuase postmasters are retiring and there is noone following on to take over. Many of these postmasters have considerable equity in their premises, there is no way anyone can fund a new building or rent the old one for the money from 5-10 people buying stamps a day.

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    Mute Margate
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    Aug 29th 2018, 6:52 PM

    @Joe Clery: Nonsense point about retiring etc. What’s to stop them put put to tender?? I suspect there would be plenty of local interest. Not an excuse. Or if a nurse retires they close down a Dept, or a Garda and they close a station or a Teacher and they drop the subject??? Please!

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    Mute John
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    Aug 29th 2018, 7:20 PM

    @Margate: I think you need to educate yourself on the subject,nobody did want to continue to run the businesses because it was not viable.

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    Mute sinead foley-coleman
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    Aug 29th 2018, 8:22 PM

    @John: we have at least two local business willing to take the post office. Ur correct i believe about the very smaller ones John but that certainly isn’t the case in our area

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    Mute wiggy
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:08 PM

    Move with the times

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    Mute WoodlandBard
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:21 PM

    Community? Within what radius of the post office? 200 metres?

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    Mute sinead foley-coleman
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:41 PM

    Very disingenuous of CEO re the numbers. The criteria is thus : 500 population within speed limit signs. In our case one of said signs is less than 300 meters from the post office door. Now if you go beyond the sign to the hinterland (given that 2 other post offices have closed within that hinterland) the population rises to 3200. Surely a fairer criteria would have been to base the criteria on the number of transactions carried out by the post office as opposed to the “speed limit population “ but then again an post knew that more post offices would meet the population as opposed to the transactions criteria. Very Machiavellian of an post!!

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    Mute Jaci Black
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:10 PM

    Many rural Post offices could be potential Tourist Offices. Many tourist offices are often based outside towns and are inaccessible to visitors and locals.
    Depending on the size of premises, restaurants, internet cafes, local historic guide tours and ecco courses, for example, traditional stone masonry could be implemented.
    The list is endless.

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    Mute cr
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:44 PM

    Get rid of them all. What do we need them for? Everything they offer can be done online. As for posting letters, surely a system like parcel motel could be adopted. Another 10 years all the post offices will be shut.

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    Mute sinead foley-coleman
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:50 PM

    @cr: the west of ireland have predominantly zero internet/broadband. Truthfully i had a new broadband provider at my door last week and he ran a suitability test and in fairness to him he told me not to waste my money because it was a no-hoper so i the heck can i bank on line!!!!

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    Mute shane conlan
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    Aug 29th 2018, 4:38 PM

    People forget that the postman/ postwoman will take mail from customers while on route or if a stamp is needed just hand them the money too. Most sorting offices sell stamps now. Banking and bill paying will still be the issue though.

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    Mute Roy O'Rourke
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:26 PM

    @shane conlan: Postmen/women on route are not supposed to take mail from anyone to be delivered. Maybe in rural areas they do but certainly not Dublin. You could get into serious trouble for it

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    Mute Seán Domhnall O'Sullivan
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    Aug 29th 2018, 5:54 PM

    Ah tis a pity all the same

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    Mute Simon Sprocket
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    Aug 30th 2018, 10:15 AM

    Post Office’s are an essential service for some especially in rural communities, we should be using them as access centres for financial and government services instead of strangling the life out of small towns and villages, whether they make money or not is irrelevant, given that thinking we should close all schools and garda stations because they make no money either. Another nail in the coffin for rural Ireland.

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    Mute Noelle Breathnach
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    Aug 30th 2018, 1:52 AM

    I presume they will be adding extra bus services to those in the community without cars (like hell they will) who rely on their local post office.

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    Mute Will
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    Aug 29th 2018, 9:55 PM

    He ruined a reasonable argument with an obvious fib.

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