Up to eighty post offices have been slated for closure in a new unpublished Government report on the future of An Post.
The Irish Independent reports that a new strategy, devised by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Bobby Kerr, recommends that 80 of the An Post’s 1,130 post offices are loss making and should be shut.
A spokeswoman for An Post told the newspaper that an in-depth review of the post office network will now be conducted. It is believed the organisation will attempt to prevent any closures by seeking a bailout of millions.
“This is not a short-term focus, but a solidly based long-term business that can thrive in the modern market and anticipate the future needs of our corporate and personal customers.” said the spokeswoman.
Many of the day-to-day transactions that were once carried out exclusively at the post office, including social welfare payments, child benefit and State pension can now be paid directly into the recipient’s bank account.
