FF Accused Of 'Misleading' People On Post Office Closures

Fianna Fáil has been accused of misleading people in rural Ireland over post offices.

Fine Gael TD for Galway West, Sean Kyne criticised Fianna Fáil and said that the government "has a plan to secure the future of An Post."

"The Government has a comprehensive plan to protect the future of our postal network and Fianna Fáil really need to stop trying to whip up fear and panic on this issue in rural Ireland," Mr Kyne said.

He added: "I strongly object to the way Fianna Fáil have been misleading people on this matter for the past few months. A Parliamentary Question I submitted in the Dáil has shown that while twenty two post offices were closed between 2011- 2014, 288 post offices were closed down between 2005 - 2010, when Fianna Fáil were in power.

"Fianna Fáil's attempts to conjure up fear and panic in rural Ireland on the matter of our postal service, masks the truth about the drastic action they took in closing down post offices in towns and villages across the country during their last term of Government.

"We support the concept of the local Post Office as the 'front office of Government' providing services for people in their own local community.   An Post has introduced new business lines in the area of bill payment, passport applications, Garda fines, 'postfone' and foreign exchange. It also secured a deal to process local property tax payments. It has also made positive progress in diversifying its network, through deals with AIB and Aviva Ireland. I feel confident that the future is bright for our postal service as a result."

(MH/CD)