Sinn Féin Councillor John Shéamais Ó Fearraigh has criticized both the Government and Management at An Post over what he’s describing as the ‘shameful showboating’ of its recent set of finance results which seen profits at the State-owned company jump by 400 per cent to €41M last year.
The figures come following the closure of 151 mainly rural post office over the last number of months, including 17 branches in Donegal – something Ó Fearraigh says shows that decision makers are choosing to put profits ahead of rural communities.
Cllr Ó Fearraigh said “Last week, Management at An Post announced that the company had a record year after seing its profits surge by 400 per cent to €41m for 2018.
“It was reported that this compared to profits of over €8m in 2017, after revenues at the firm rose by 7 per cent over the last 12 months to almost €900m.
“While these figures were being heralded as proof that the company’s transformation and restructuring plans were paying off it cannot be overlooked that these very healthy financial results have come at the expense of rural Ireland.”
Last summer An Post announced that the company had made the decision to shut 151 post offices, mainly in rural communities.
In Donegal 17 towns and villages lost their post office as a result.
He added “Despite the huge blow these closures have dealt to rural communities here, both the Government and Management of An Post see nothing wrong with engaging in shameful showboating when it boasted last week about how much extra money the firm has racked in over the past year.
“As many people will recall, I have long voiced my opposition to the removal of postal services from our small towns and villages yet Fine Gael is on a mission to decimate some of our most remote and rural communities simply to make a quick buck.
“Clearly, the Government has decided to put profits ahead of people again on this occasion – they should hang their heads in shame.”
