Post Office Closures will have devastating effect on Rural Communities - Elliott
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Ulster Unionist Assembly member for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Tom Elliott MLA has called on the new Northern Ireland Assembly to demand that the Westminster Government provide a secure future for the hundreds of post offices in rural parts of Northern Ireland.
Tom said: “Following the announcement by Trade and Industry secretary, Alistair Darling last week that 2,500 post offices are to close by 2009 with the potential that as many as 200 post offices could close in Northern Ireland.
The figures show that the vast majority of post office closures will occur in the rural community and these post offices form the backbone of communities and provide essential services to the community. Uncertainty surrounds the exact number and location of closures, however, it is feared that the post office network in the most rural parts of Fermanagh & South Tyrone will be impacted upon.
Post offices play a very important role in many rural areas in Northern Ireland and figures show that 58% of those people over 55 get cash from the post office on a regular basis and that almost two-thirds of post office users (63%) live less than a mile away from their nearest post office. As one elderly rural dweller pointed out that due to PPS14 Government are now stopping our families building in the countryside, rural schools are being forced to close due to Bain report and now we will not get cash or mail posted in rural areas, this places the rural communities under even more threat and disadvantage.
What is required is a viable and robust strategy to support consumers and communities if post offices closures are going to be introduced and only a strategy that joins up policies of social and financial inclusion will work for consumers.
The envisaged timescale for the programme, to start in June and conclude within 18 months is unrealistic and should at this stage be suspended.
If Government want to sustain post offices in the long term, they must provide long term finances, rather than continually withdrawing services and making post offices un-profitable. Sadly, all the present post offices are left in limbo over this announcement and unsure of what their future is, until an announcement is made on which post offices are too close. Government must recognise the importance of post office services to rural parts of Northern Ireland”