Extend post office contracts to cover lockdown periods

Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny, has called on Eamon Ryan, Minister for Communications, to extend the contracts of post offices in order to make up the time they had to be closed during Covid-related lockdowns.

Deputy Kenny said: “Post offices all over Ireland, but especially those in rural areas, have suffered during lockdowns and because of the 5km travel limits.

“Normally, post offices have fixed-term contracts but some have spent a large period of that time with much reduced business due to Covid-19. I am calling on Minister Ryan to extend automatically the contracts of post offices by up to two years.

“The fact that so many rural post offices have closed in recent years was highlighted by the 5km travel limit, which left many people without access to An Post services, except postal delivery.

“In that regard, it is a credit to postal workers to have worked on the front line and have provided people with a means of communication while in isolation from family and friends.

“The almost-lost habit of letter-writing has been revived by many families, allowing particularly grandparents to communicate with their grandchildren by post,” Deputy Kenny concluded.