Fury over post office closure

THE son of a well-known postmistress has launched a scathing attack on An Post over its closure of the post office on Santry Lane after his mother’s death.

Santry Post Office, which was a busy, popular and profitable office, has been closed since August following the death of its well-known and widely respected postmistress Míne Bean Uí Chribín.

The office had been in the Cribín family for over six decades and at the time of Míne’s death, at the age of 84, had employed two permanent and six part-time workers.

After Míne’s death An Post carried out a consultation to establish the demand for the office to reopen. And two weeks ago the semi-state body officially announced that Santry Post Office will not reopen, a decision that has incensed the local community.

According to Míne’s son, Geaoíd O’Cribín, An Post has handled the situation

“shamefully

?. His wife, Anne, who had worked with Míne for 25 years, was among a number of employees who lost their jobs.

“It’s hard to think how a semi-state company such as An Post could come in and put all these people out of jobs in what is an already economically depressed area.

?

After the closure of the office, customers were advised to use the post office at Omni Park Shopping Centre while An Post carried out a consultation period to determine local demand.

“I firmly believe that this so-called consultation period was just An Post paying lip-service to the community and that the decision to close the office for good was always on the cards,

? Mr O’Cribín (pictured above) stated.

“I had communicated my ability to take on the running of the office and my belief that the office was needed in the area but I was stonewalled.

“If my mother was alive today she would be absolutely appalled and fighting tooth and nail for the office to reopen.

?

Collette Reardon, secretary of Santry Community Forum, an umbrella group representing thousands of residents in the area, said locals were vehemently opposed to the closure of the post office for a number of reasons.

“Older residents who cannot walk or stand for long will have to trek down to the shopping centre to do their business at an already very busy post office,

? she said.

“We recently presented An Post with a petition signed by over 2,500 people but that seemed to make little or no difference to the powers that be in there.

?

Cllr Paul McAuliffe (FF) said the former Santry Post Office was a quick and efficient place to do business for all those using the post office including pensioners and local businesses.

Local TD Dessie Ellis (SF) said he felt An Post had let the community down badly.

“It’s not good enough, especially as the community was so vocal on the issue,

? he said.

A spokesperson for An Post denied that the decision to close the office was a

“foregone conclusion

?.

“It’s a tragic situation when a postmaster or mistress dies and there isn’t a standard set of rules and protocols,

? he told Northside People.

“We moved in to make sure there was a continuity of services for customers which would be provided in the short-term, at least by the office in the Omni.

“Based on our own judgement and from our consultation period we decided that customers would be best served in the Omni Park Shopping Centre.

“It’s an unusual and difficult situation and we acted in the best interests of our customers.

“Yes I agree that the current post office serves a large catchment area but we plan to upgrade the post office in the Omni to cater for the increased demand and that office will now be known as Santry Post Office.

?