Labour politicians have said postal services in Ranelagh are under threat, and the government needs to intervene.
TD and party leader Ivana Bacik and Pembroke councillor Dermot Lacey have said that local residents deserve clarity.
With the local postal services, currently provided at the local Spar, set to wind down, both Bacik and Lacey said it is further proof of postal services being eroded on this government’s watch.
Bacik said, “so soon after the closure of Ballsbridge post office and the relocation of in-person postal services from the Rathmines Post Office to a local shop, the news of this imminent closure in Ranelagh represents the further erosion of public services in Dublin Bay South,” she said.
Bacik said the situation is a clear example of how vulnerable private retail services are when they are asked to provide essential public services.
The Dublin Bay South TD explained, “the government and An Post have increasingly pursued a model of moving in-person services from dedicated public facilities to smaller counters at the backs of shops; this move leaves those services fundamentally exposed to commercial pressures.”
“High rents, rising operating costs and changes in the viability of individual businesses should not place our public services at the mercy of the market,” she said.
Bacik said that she and councillor Lacey are seeking clarity on the future of postal services in Ranelagh.
“An Post tells us they will do everything they can to find an alternative location – a welcome commitment. However, both the government and An Post should now also be asking themselves the broader question of the sustainability of their preferred model.”
The Labour leader stated that a public postal service should not depend on market changes, rents or the circumstances of individual shop owners.
“The government has a choice in how it responds to these alarm bells. It can continue to neglect public services, or it can protect them,”she said.
“Alongside local residents, we in Labour have campaigned for years to halt the erosion of our public services. The community is outraged and they are right to feel that way. The social safety net should be expanding, not be whittled away.”
Lacey, councillor for the Pembroke constituency, said that yet another post office closing in the Dublin Bay South area is a blow.
“Those who lose out most when these services disappear are those with the fewest alternatives: older people, those who are isolated due to a language barrier, people without easy access to digital alternatives, disabled people and others,” he said.
“As a councillor I have seen the pressures caused by removal of other local services, such as the Citizens Information Centre that used to operate from Wynnfield Road. No one can deny that removal of the physical infrastructure our communities rely on is hurting households,” he said.
Lacey stated, “we cannot keep selling off the family silver, leaving people without the services that once anchored their community.”
“We welcome An Post’s efforts to find an alternative in this instance. It is the least that staff at, and users of, the service deserve. However, they – and the government – should also take this opportunity to re-examine the wider policy of shifting essential public services into private premises. Clearly, it does not work.”