There could be a boost for post offices in Laois as a new group has been set up to look at sending more work their way.
An Inter-departmental Group co-chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is to examine the feasibility of directing more Government business to the post office network.
The group will report back to Government by the end of July.
Local Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has welcomed the move.
She said: “A sustainable Post Office network is a key priority for Fianna Fáil in government due to the essential role they play in both rural and urban areas.
“The pandemic has changed how many people live their lives and with a massive increase in people working from home, local services have never been more important.
“Towns and villages throughout Laois rely on their local post office for a host of services and given the recent bad news about banks leaving our towns and villages, we have to remember that not everyone wants to or is capable of availing of online services.
“Public service delivery must be geared to the customer irrespective of how they wish to engage with Government services.
“Growing up in Rathangan, our post mistress Molly Forde was a huge part of our community and provided such an important social service and huge intangible benefits.
“I would hate to envisage any town or village of sufficient size, not having their own Post Office.
“I believe there is huge untapped potential within An Post to make further contribution across many areas of life and this Offline Services Report, brought to Government, is the first stage in this.”
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