Dublin Bay North TDs Tom Brabazon and Barry Heneghan have criticised plans by An Post to move the Harmonstown sorting office to Finglas.
The Dublin Bay North TDs have argued that the decision by An Post to move the sorting office further west on the Northside will be a major inconvenience to residents in Coolack, Artane, and Raheny.
Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday (21), Fianna Fáil TD Brabazon said, “I am absolutely sick and tired of coming into this chamber to complain about basic services not being delivered correctly or being removed to satisfy a corporate need rather than a public service.”
Brabazon remarked, “it seems to be a constant; I am in here every other week giving out about various emanations of the state . I am fed up with it, and my constituents are fed up with it. Here we are once again, and I am back to give out.”
The Fianna Fáil TD said that moving the sorting office from Harmstown to Finglas “made no sense” as there is no public transport link between the two areas.
“The local community relies on having accessible postal services, and moving this service to Finglas would place an unnecessary burden on local residents, especially on older people who already struggle with accessing public transport and their own mobility,” he said.
Brabazon explained, “Finglas is simply not well-connected to our community. There is no straightforward public transport link that would allow people to travel there easily and independently. If this daft proposal proceeds, people will have to travel by car, which will just add traffic to the M50 carpark at a time when the country is trying to reduce our carbon footprint.”
He said, “my constituents are very worried about how they will collect parcels, deal with registered post, deal with missed deliveries and access postal services if this goes ahead; these are very basic services that people should be able to access within their own local community.”
The Dublin Bay North TD noted “the EU proximity principle, that is applied in many instances, should be applied in respect of these services; reducing accessibility is the wrong approach entirely.”
“This idea has to be scrapped, and I am asking the Minister to intervene on this and impress on An Post the value placed on the sorting office in Harmonstown and the damage that will be caused if it is to be relocated,” he said.
Brabazon said the solution to the issue was staring An Post in the face, with the organisation claiming that “bigger premises” are needed for the sorting office.
“There is a site owned by Dublin City Council right next door to the sorting office. If An Post purchased a small piece of that site and a delicately planned planning application was made, I am sure it could be the solution. However, not having considered an extension and moving everything over to Finglas is daft,” he said.
“People are sick and tired of services being pulled from their communities, and this will be another valuable amenity lost in the area I represent. This is an awful proposal, and it needs to be stopped. The Minister, as shareholder on behalf of the people, needs to intervene.”
Fine Gael Minister of State Frankie Feighan explained that An Post operates in a statutory role, meaning it is not directly answerable to government ministers on matters such as day-to-day operations or distribution.
Feighan stated, “notwithstanding this is an operational matter, officials have engaged with the company. An Post has advised in the case of Harmonstown, the move is very much in the future, and there is much to be considered before then; this includes which facilities in the local area will be utilised for undelivered mail.”
“An Post has advised it is in consultation with its staff and unions on the details of the move,” he said.
“An Post has noted it is consolidating its national network of local sorting offices, also known as delivery service units. An Post advises it needs larger and purpose-fitted premises to manage increased parcel volumes. An Post further advises it is hiring 300 additional postmen and postwomen across the country, some of whom will be working in this area, to manage the massive growth in volumes.”
Feighan’s response did not cut any mustard with Brabazon, however.
“I am not happy with this hand-wringing exercise to say there is no statutory function,” he remarked.
“As a shareholder in the company, the Minister has some influence over decisions that are being made. If a state-owned body or a semi-state body in which a Minister has a shareholding is not influenceable, there is a serious issue.”
Elsewhere in Dublin Bay North, independent TD Barry Heneghan has started a change.org petition to force An Post’s hand on the issue.
At time of going to press on Friday afternoon, Heneghan’s petition has gathered 900 online signatures.
The independent TD said that An Post needs to “provide clear information” and give aussrances to residents on the planned relocation.
Heneghan said there is “significant concern” from residents about the planned move, particually for missed post and parcels.
Heneghan said he has been in contact with An Post in recent days on the issue, and has requested a meeting between himself and An Post to seek clarity on the plans, timelines and future arrangements for local collection services.
“An Post has informed me that local collection facilities will remain in the area, however there is still no clear information on where these facilities will be located, how they will operate, or what guarantees will be in place for residents,” he said.
“This petition is about ensuring the community is properly informed, consulted, and reassured that accessible local postal services will remain available,” the independent TD said.
Government and opposition TDs from both the Northside and Southside have criticised An Post’s planned relocation of post offices.
In March, Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly criticised what he called the “bean counter” treatment of Ireland’s postal services.
The Dublin West TD said that post offices are “under pressure”, and local communities are left behind.
Donnelly criticised the “bean counter” culture at the heart of government and their handling of post office closures, saying they operate on a mentality of “how much will it cost, what is the profit, and what is the loss?”
“We can never measure, and we never even attempt to measure, the positive social aspects of public services we had,” he said.
In March, Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan said that are 873 post offices across Ireland, with “most of them” operated by independent postmasters.
Minister O’Donovan noted that only 41 of the post offices are directly operated by An Post, with postmasters operating over 90% of the network.
“This is a nationwide network of significant scale, providing the economic and social benefits I have mentioned, to citizens, urban and rural, across all of Ireland,” he said.
He said that the government recognises the challenges for both the network and postal services, and that “uncertainty” regarding global trade is one of these challenges.