There is concern in North Wexford about the future of rural post offices inspiring hundreds of people to sign a petition to “keep the local post office at the heart of the community.”

In recent weeks, notices inviting people to sign a petition have been placed in post offices across North Wexford.

The campaign argues that rather than cutting services provided through the post office, many more services could be provided, and they are calling on the Government to pursue policy and action to ensure a sustainable plan for the post office network.

“There is a genuine fear that post offices will close, particularly the smaller ones, and that fear is there because the future policies of An Post is unknown. People are afraid,” said one post office operator.

He pointed out that the post office is not just a place to do business, but a social meeting point for the community.

“If someone wants to know what time a funeral is on, I am expected to know. People in rural areas use the post office as a meeting point.”

In recent years post offices have closed at Askamore, Ballygarrett, Ballymoney, Castletown, Craanford, Hollyfort, Inch, and Killenagh.

Some former post offices have ‘post boxes’ or ‘post points’ to serve the community, but it is also pointed out that many of the small rural post offices still operating have ‘post points’ outside of the main building.

These are emptied daily by An Post staff and there is a local belief that this may be the future for the rural post network.

There has been some disquiet in Gorey since the new Gorey Tesco Store was franchised by An Post to operate a limited number of services and concerns were raised on more than one occasion at the now disbanded Gorey Town Council.

“Keeping the post office at the heart of the community” is a campaign that is nationwide at the moment, but the momentum is being stepped up in North Wexford.

Front page story in this week’s edition of THE GOREY ECHO.