Conway-Walsh slams proposal by An Post to move mail collection for Erris postal workers to Ballina

Erris-based Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has slammed An Post’s proposal to require postal workers serving the Erris area to collect mail from the newly opened Ballina depot. The change would mean that the 13 postal workers who deliver across the Erris region, would have to undertake a two-hour 100-mile plus round trip each day just to collect the day’s post before even starting their deliveries.

The Erris postal delivery area is one of the largest and most rural in the country, and includes many isolated and coastal communities. The decision would have wide-ranging implications for workers, local residents and community life, as well as for road safety and climate emissions.

Speaking after meeting with the postal workers in Barnatra this morning, Deputy Conway-Walsh said:

“This proposal from An Post is completely unworkable, unsafe and socially damaging. It makes absolutely no sense to ask postal workers to drive more than 100 miles every day just to collect the mail before they even begin their deliveries. That’s at least a two-hour round trip added to every day’s work.

“You simply cannot have 13 vans travelling in and out of Erris to Ballina and back again daily. It’s just not feasible, it’s bad for the environment and it adds unnecessary risks for workers on already busy roads.

“There’s a whole social dimension here that An Post seems to be ignoring. Rural postal services are not just about delivering letters and parcels, they are about keeping people connected and supported.

“Our postal workers are at the heart of our communities. Many elderly people and those living alone know the drivers by name and they often look out for each other. For some, that visit from the postman or postwoman might be the only human contact they have that day.

“This represents yet another example of a vital service being stripped away from our rural communities. Locally, people rely on the Barnatra depot to collect urgent post, such as passports or exam papers for schools. That access would be lost if everything has to come out of Ballina. It’s just not acceptable.

“I am calling on the postal workers’ union to immediately meet with these workers and to play an active role in the fight back against this ludicrous proposal, for An Post to take this proposal of the table, and for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to intervene as a matter of urgency.

“We need common sense to prevail. This plan is bad for workers, bad for communities and bad for rural Ireland.”