Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie
The prospects of Knockmore holding on to their post office look bleak after a local councillor said they were ‘wasting their time’ negotiating with An Post.
Knockmore Fine Gael councillor Seamus Weir told yesterday’s meeting of Mayo County Council that he had just come from a meeting with An Post and said they wanted to close all post offices no matter how profitable they were.
Cllr Weir was joined at the meeting with An Post officials by the local TDs and the Save Knockmore Post Office Action Committee who had presented a business plan to the officials to try and convince them to keep the post office open. The post office is due to close at the end of the month following the retirement of the current post master.
Cllr Weir expressed his frustration that the elected representatives have no power to try and persuade companies like An Post to change their mind and said it was the ‘CEO’s who have the power’.
“The TDs are doing their upmost but we are absolutely wasting our time dealing with An Post. Our top TDs can’t influence them and they [An Post] told us that they want to close all post offices if someone retires. It doesn’t matter if they are making a mint, they will close them. We have built a community and they are taking what little business we have. We pleaded with them, we have a business plan in place but you might as well be talking to the wall,” he told the meeting.
An Post claim the current post office is not viable and that the current post offices in Foxford and Ballina will serve the needs of the Knockmore community.
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