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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Postal disruptions in Dublin

Summary

Deputy McAuliffe reports serious delivery disruptions in Grove Park and Glasnevin, affecting bank cards and medical appointments. The Tánaiste undertakes to contact An Post through the Minister.

An Post is one of our core public services, one that has many fantastic people working within it. Over the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to engage with two groups of people who have concerns about our post service. The first group relates to post delivery. The Grove Park and Glasnevin areas of my constituency have had significant disruption to their post services as a result of issues around recruitment, rosters and so on. As the Tánaiste knows, people rely on their post services. I have had examples of bank cards arriving late and people missing oncology appointments as a result. It is really important. It is important that An Post is able to respond to that challenge as well.

I met with a group of urban postmasters, which is a group that is often forgotten, about the viability of urban post offices. Local post offices in villages right across the northside of Dublin are having viability issues, but it is their rural colleagues who are often talked about. If we do not have a reliable postal service and post office network, we will suffer. I welcome the viability funding that was provided by the Government. That is important. I ask the Tánaiste to assist me in trying to improve the post service in the local Grove Park and Glasnevin areas. He might contact An Post on my behalf. Will he assure me that we will support urban postmasters?

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Simon Harris The Tánaiste Fine Gael

I will certainly do those things on behalf of both the Deputy and his constituents. I will make contact, via the Minister, with An Post regarding the local postal service disruptions that people are experiencing. When I think back to the Covid period, which was a difficult period of time in our country, some of the unsung heroes I think of are the postmen and postwomen. I remember that we did not even have to ask them. They contacted the Government to say that they knew where the vulnerable people lived in their communities because they went to their houses every day. They offered to do things and they did them. There was no talk of terms and conditions. They just rolled up their sleeves and got involved. They represent the very best of our community spirit.

The Deputy is also right, in that it is important when we have these conversations that they do not neatly divide between urban and rural. I am proud that we are in a Government that has a good track record in supporting the postal network. I will certainly raise the specific issues the Deputy has raised with the Minister for communications, Deputy O'Donovan, and ask that he raise them with An Post.

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