15 November, 2018

dunkineely an post



was closed down after an appeal lodged by the local community was rejected.  The closure was a part of a restructuring plan.
An Post have committed as part of the reformed network that communities with populations of over 500 people would have a post office, and 95 per cent of the population would always be within 15km of at least one post office.
The community is not happy.  The older folks go to the post to pick up their pensions,, pay bills and other things.  They probably don't have reliable internet access which makes it a bit tougher to pay bills online and now if they don't have transportation, they have to find a way to get to a post office designated to their area.  The an post building these people will be going to is in Bruckless 3 km away.  It's far enough that an older person wouldn't be able to walk and lack of a footpath just about makes it impossible.  They will need to arrange a ride which could be a problem for some of them.

28 comments:

  1. It is a sign of the time, here we don't have a postoffice either anymore. We have to go to a bookshop or supermarket for stamps and sending a package. Older people are most affected by these messures.

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  2. Not many people can walk 28 Km - that's 17 miles.

    God bless.

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  3. ...cutting back on postal services is happening here too!

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  4. It's happening in England too. Unfortunately there are too many people like me who use e mail and online banking rather than visiting the local Post Office.

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  5. This is happening the world over. It happened here too, but after the initial uproar everyone got used to it and made appropriate arrangements. We use a community mailbox at the end of the street. Actually we don’t use a physical post office much at all any more.

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  6. Hello, the cut backs are hurting the people in so many different ways. I feel for the older people. We do have a shuttle for people who can drive to do their appointments and shopping. Enjoy your day, have a great weekend ahead!

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  7. We are slowly being absorbed into cyber space...losing contact with our fellow man. The all mighty dollar has made greed the winner. Cut this. Bundle that. And put a machine around it. No wonder humans have forgotten how to smile or shake someone's hands with their fellow man.
    Just my two cents worth 💮

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  8. There is a threat to close our post office too. It hasn't happened yet but probably will. We lost house delivery years ago and now have to pick up mail at "super mailboxes" at the end of the street. Bu I have to admit I use email and pay bills on line so very rarely use the post office.

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  9. Hello Bill.
    It’s happening here too!
    Our town has 10.000 people and we have only one post office!
    You must see the big line of old people,every end of the month,to pick up their pension.
    Very sad what is happening indeed! Have a lovely evening!
    Dimi...

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  10. So sad. I rarely go to the post office but would hate not having one nearby or a way there if I couldn't walk to it.

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  11. Somehow our politicians have conned the people into thinking that the government's purpose is to make money and if a government service does not make money it should be eliminated and that the government should be structured so the rich get more than their share so they can hire more people, pay more taxes, etc. All of that is a scam. And it NEVER happens. In our case, the Republicans have argued for privatization of the postal system for years which would mean a few folks would line their pockets and service would go to hell.

    But the government's purpose is to serve the people in the most equitable way possible. It is not to make the rich richer, it is to help all the people live richer lives.

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  12. Wow, that really is a problem. I can't imagine having to go that far to get and send mail.

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  13. Hi Bill.

    There is so much disappearing, and the older and other people who can not come anywhere or do things well, have to see how they solve it.

    Such a shame it is called progress.

    Groettie from Patricia.

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  14. This will be a problem for a while and then all elderly people will end up in the larger place and the smaller place will disappear. We have lots of ghost towns here. Google Esk Sask. This was my village. It's gone.

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  15. very sad that it will be so
    is alike at home with postal and banking services

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  16. That is so sad. Our little post office in Conway was going to close down but we all signed a petition and it has stayed opened and even remodeled. It just celebrated being open for 125 yrs. the population of Conway itself is only 91 persons but the outlying area is all farming making it still the closest PO.
    MB

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  17. That's awful that it was closed own. I'm sure it'll be hard for some to get to the post office now.

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  18. Here a lot of the post offices have moved into drug stores so they aren't too far apart. The banks keep closing branches however and that is becoming a problem!

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  19. The needs of this community are being discounted as unnecessary. Redpat is right. Condensed milk in its own way.

    I really enjoy your post.

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  20. It is cruel. But the picture is beautiful.

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  21. Such a shame for the community.

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  22. That's a real shame. It doesn't sound like they made any effort to accommodate the older folks. We have a new postmaster who talked a good line about "efficiencies." Our delivery person was canned and our deliveries have gone from reliable to abysmal. We're at their mercy.

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  23. That's shocking Bill.. they really don't put enough thought into some community decisions made.. this one is outrageous!

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  24. I fear this is happening world-wide, it is such a shame, especially for the older community.

    All the best Jan

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  25. Yep, we've been going through something very similarly here.

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  26. That's unfortunate for the community.

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