It was a proud young David Devine who walked into the GPO with Kilmacanogue’s Save Our Post Office petition.
Over 1,000 signatures have been gathered in the hope of convincing the powers that be that this valuable asset in the village should not only reopen, but always remain.
Over 1,000 signatures have been gathered in the hope of convincing the powers that be that this valuable asset in the village should not only reopen, but always remain.The battle to save small post offices is a nationwide one, with eighty post offices facing the chop as part of a recommendation by the Government to ensure the survival of An Post.
Part of a plan drawn up by businessman Bobby Kerr in the hope of stemming the national postal service’s €12m-a-year losses, it is believed that out of the 1,130 post offices nationwide, it’s the small rural operations – of which there is an estimated 500 – that are causing the major losses. That more and more people are choosing to receive their State pensions and child benefits payments directly into their bank accounts has merely added more fuel to the funeral pyre for small post offices.
The Kilmacanogue post office closed on Valentine’s Day without warning, the local residents quickly springing into action. Part of that fightback is the petition handed into the GPO today by one of the campaign’s leaders, David Devine.
“The closure of Kilmac appears to be more complicated as there is a vendor issue too,” Devine told the Guide today. “It’s an issue that Regional Operations manager Alan McLoughlin said he couldn’t discuss further with me at the GPO today, but he did acknowledge the public outcry in Kilmacanogue and the necessity to retain the service in the area.”
With that petition still open right here, David and the rest of Kilmacanogue will now have to wait and see if there really is safety in numbers.
Unlike some, we will definitely keep you posted…
You can catch our recent video chat with David Devine here, and get a taste of Kilmacanogue history right here.