Sinn Féin Senator Lynn Boylan has welcomed news that the Government has accepted Sinn Féin amendments to a Seanad motion on the future of An Post.

The Sinn Féin amendments call on the Government to introduce a Public Service Obligation (PSO) to secure the future of our post office network and prevent further post office closures.

Speaking today, Senator Boylan said:

“The postal service has been blighted by closures and hobbled by cutbacks. We need urgent action and significant investment from the Government if we don’t want further closures.

“The Irish Postmasters’ Union recommended a PSO of €17 million. Sinn Féin fully supports this call and have been advocating for a PSO for over a decade.

“Notably, Fianna Fáil also supported a PSO when in opposition and spoke in favour of it during a Dáil debate on a Sinn Féin motion in 2018.

“However, support for a PSO was conspicuously absent from yesterday’s Seanad motion brought by Fianna Fáil. It would have been completely hypocritical to call for a PSO and then drop support for it once in Government.

“People who rely on their post offices were watching intently to see if they did what they promised and fortunately, Fianna Fáil supported the Sinn Féin amendments.

“Simply calling on the Government is not enough. Now we need to follow this commitment up with action. Without urgent action we’ll see more closures.”