PEOPLE IN rural parts of County Wexford have expressed their anger and disappointment this week at the Government’s apparent u-turn with regard to supporting the post-office network across the country.

Postmasters throughout the county have expressed serious concern over what they claim is the lack of action following a promised commitment to maintaining the country’s network of post-offices in the Programme for Government.

Commenting on the matter to The Echo some of those involved with the sector highlighted the postmasters’ major concerns which include: “Lack of a Government plan to ensure the survival of the Post Office network, welfare payments being driven to the banks despite An Post winning the latest tender and An Post partnering with Tesco to develop an alternative network that will wipe out Postmaster.”

Area like Carrig-on-Bannow and Newbawn would be very badly affected if the local post-office closes.

The Irish Postmaster’s Union highlighted its concerns on the issue to The Echo and said that the Government needs to show how it intends keeping the commitments made under its Programme for Government.”

“They don’t have a plan and without a plan there’s no action and therefore the network is in real danger of being lost forever,” said Ciaran McEntee, the union’s President, in a statement to this newspaper.

He also highlighted the fact that Postmasters are not ‘anti-Government’ but instead want to see an action plan in place with timelines aimed at ensuring the survival of the sector.

“Government inaction will result in Post Office closures,” he said.

Postmasters have also expressed concern that if rural post-offices close, which they say will happen unless the Government follows through on its Programme for Government promises, it will lead to branch closures which will direct negatively on communities across the county and nationwide.

“The disadvantages will suffer disproportionately.”

The organisation also highlighted that it will not only be rural areas that will suffer but closures will also impact negatively on disadvantages urban areas.

The union has said that unless something is done by 2017 there will be 557 post-office closures throughout the country.

“Urban and rural areas will be hit by the closures that would follow the loss of the social welfare contact,” said Mr. McEntee.

The Social Welfare contact is worth €60m per annum to An Post with around €20m of that accruing directly to the network which the union says cannot survive without maintaining its current revenue.