The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Postal Matters, Hildegarde Naughton TD announced a funding package of €30 million over a three-year fixed period to support a sustainable, nationwide post office network.
Ministers Ryan and Naughton brought a memo outlining the funding package to cabinet.
Through this measure, the government recognises the importance of a high-value and high-quality Post Office network to citizens throughout Ireland, as well as the central and trusted role of postmasters in our communities.
The reaction of Michael Healy Rae , TD and Postmaster
“While I welcome the acknowledgement by the Government of their subsidy/support and I appreciate it, what we as postmasters throughout the country want and have always clearly stated is the ability to make our post offices more viable by having more businesses and services being made available through the network,” said Kerry independent TD Michael Healy Rae.
“For example, I have always argued for the introduction of community banking based on the Kiwi model which sees profits being ploughed back into the local community and being a great service locally which is badly needed in Ireland at present,” he continued.
Bridging a Gap
“I see this funding now as a bridging gap to allow us time to get more services as this subsidy is for a three year period and after that the Post Office Network will have to stand on its own two feet and be profitable or else it will fall and result in closures on a massive scale.
You can read the full text of the government announcement of the subsidy with a Click on the link here:
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