Funding needed to avoid post office closures, says union

The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) has said the country’s post office network urgently needs an investment of €15 million per year over five years to secure the future of the service.

The figures are contained in a new report by Grant Thornton for the IPU.

Without adequate funding, the union has claimed that the future is bleak, and the prospect of rapid, unrestrained closures is an immediate threat.

The Grant Thornton research places a figure of between €344 million and €776 million on the annual social and economic value of the post office network to communities across Ireland.

With the current Government funding arrangement due to expire at the end of 2025, postmasters are now calling for immediate clarity from the Government to ensure the continued sustainability of the network.

“As banks continue to close branches and Ireland transitions to a more digitally-focused economy, post offices have become critical for financial inclusion and cash accessibility, particularly for vulnerable citizens and rural communities,” the IPU said.

The union said that rising cost-of-living pressures, inflation, wage increases, and compliance costs that have severely impacted postmasters’ incomes, but post offices remain ineligible for many available business supports.

They are also unable to increase their prices due to their contract requirements with An Post.

“The Government can secure the future of Ireland’s post office network with a strategic investment of less than €3 per citizen per year – less than the price of a cup of coffee,” said IPU President Seán Martin.

“We’re asking for a clear, long-term commitment, not just short-term support,” Mr Martin said.

“This investment will not only protect essential community services but will also enable postmasters to take on additional roles, such as increased banking services, public identity verification, support for Government energy-efficiency schemes, and processing of public forms like passport applications and voter registration, helping relieve pressure on frontline public services,” he added.

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said the Government is committed to supporting Ireland’s post office network.

“The Programme for Government states that the Government will continue to provide the nationwide network of post offices with funding to ensure their sustainability and enhance the value they bring to local communities,” the spokesperson said.

“The relevant officials in the Department are working to deliver on this and are engaging with relevant stakeholders in relation to the funding.”

“Additionally, the Department is working with Government colleagues to secure future funding in line with the Programme for Government,” the spokesperson added.

An Post is fully self-funded and commercially independent, but the post office network is mainly composed of independent individual businesses run by postmasters who provide services under licence from An Post.

An Post said it supports the efforts of the IPU to have the Government extend and increase direct funding for postmasters to €15 million per year and put that on a permanent footing.

“The funding protects the post office network and ensures that citizens and businesses nationwide can continue to access trusted, practical and ever-expanding services in their own communities,” an An Post spokesperson said.