Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley has called on the CEO of An Post David McRedmond and the Minister for Communications Richard Bruton TD to bring clarity to the situation regarding the future of Portlaoise Mail Centre.
According to Mr Stanley, the future of the mail centre may be in jeopardy following a number of changes that have been made.
Deputy Stanley says that parcel mail has been moved to Dublin while the customs checking facility has also been transferred out of Portlaoise.
He says this will lead to a reduction in business and leave 200 jobs in the balance.
He said: “Parcel mail has been moved to Dublin and the customs checking facility which has been in Portlaoise for many years has also been transferred.
“This means that Portlaoise will now only handle postal mail and will inevitably lead to a reduction in the volume of business. Once again, this leaves almost 200 workers at the Centre in a precarious position regarding the future of their jobs.
“There were concerns 2 years ago when An Post made it clear they intended to close one of the four mail centres in the country (Cork, Athlone, Dublin or Portlaoise).
“I made the case strongly both to An Post management and the Government to retain Portlaoise, due to it’s ideal location on the road and rail network and easy accessibility to all parts of the country. The decision was subsequently taken last year that Cork was the one that would close.
“However now Portlaoise faces a new challenge due to removal of parts of the services. It is my belief that given it’s geographical location that it should be retained as a central distribution hub for the company.
“I am raising this with the CEO and Minister Bruton.”
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