merrion street

Communications Minister Alex White has published the final report of the Post Office Network Business Development Group, which was chaired by businessman Bobby Kerr. 

A post office network renewal process, recommended in the report, is being established immediately and will conclude its work within six months. It will build on An Post’s existing five-year strategy for the network and address the number and spatial distribution of branches, branch modernisation, the streamlining of products and services, postmaster payments and contracts, and training and qualifications for post office staff.

...said the Minister.

The Minister also announced that the Government had agreed:

• To support the introduction and roll-out, by An Post, of an ‘ePayment Account’ in 2016. The Kerr report identifies this as essential to enhance post office activity in financial services, and
• Consistent with the Kerr report, to establish the feasibility of offering motor tax services in post offices.

Minister White said:

Maintaining the relevance of the post office network continues to be a challenge in the face of changing consumer preferences. I asked the Business Development Group to identify new business opportunities for the post office network. The group has achieved this and has provided the most comprehensive analysis available on the network and its future. Its report outlines, in great detail, the measures needed to put our valued post office network on a sustainable footing into the future.

The report’s 23 recommendations cover a number of areas including network renewal, financial services, government services, white labelling, and social capital and enterprise. 

Read the full report here.