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.”