Deputy Joan Burton has received a letter from the Chief Executive of An Post stating that a replacement Post Office has still not been secured.

Deputy Burton expressed her anger over the continued failure to resolve the issue of the closure of Castleknock Post Office. The people of Castleknock have been left without a service since the resignation, without notice, of the Postmaster last April.

Deputy Burton stated:

‘It is simply not good enough that this mess has not been sorted out yet. Since the previous Postmaster resigned, An Post have apparently been unable to find anyone else to take up the vacant contract.

Now I have also been informed by the Chief Executive of An Post that the premises formerly used for the Post Office is no longer available. So now we lack both a premises and a provider. It is tremendously difficult for many people, particularly old age pensioners, to use the services in Blanchardstown.

It seems that the powers still believe that everybody with a Castleknock address is a millionaire and therefore that services such as an Post and pension services are not as essential in the Castleknock area as they are in every other part of Ireland.
Let me tell the Minister for Social Welfare and the Minister for Communications that there are many people of pension age living in the Castleknock area who rely on their Social Welfare pension, which they paid for, by social welfare contributions during their working life, and they are entitled to expect an adequate service on the same basis as people in any other part of Dublin or Ireland.’