why are Irish people so obsessed with the Post Offices?

Phat Dick

Anytime an post try to close a post office,they're accused of killing elderly people but in most other eu countries traditional post office's are almost extinct, and social welfare payments aren't doled out in cash through post office's in other eu countries either, so how is it that elderly people in say Norway and Denmark can live their lifes happily without going to a post office to collect their pension but Irish elderly people will apparently die if they couldn't do that ?

server down

It’s like the old billy Connolly joke. He’s somewhere in the west of Ireland where a fracas ensues: a woman exits a post office clearly annoyed.

“What kind of fecking post office doesn’t sell rashers”, she shouts as she storms off.

the_pen_turner

its an outing to old people. a place to meet friends and catch up on local events

RobbingBandit

It's my money father I just didn't want to fill in the forms.

me_irl

the_pen_turner wrote: »

its an outing to old people. a place to meet friends and catch up on local events

Thought that was a church? :pac:

riffmongous

the_pen_turner wrote: »

its an outing to old people. a place to meet friends and catch up on local events

Yep, the one place you would always be guaranteed to meet someone for a chat during the day

xabi

How many old Danes and Norwegians do you know? They do more than pensions you know, it’s a social outlet for a lot of old folks too.

Tenigate

the_pen_turner wrote: »

its an outing to old people. a place to meet friends and catch up on local events

Pretty much.

If the old fogies don't mind paying silly transaction fees, i see no reason to close their post offices.

A handling fee of 10% would probably make it worthwhile to run the post office as a commercial entity.

tomwaterford

It's where the dole and pension is collected....in many rural areas,many people on the dole have no car and public transport is non existent


I see ould lads and neighbour having to walk
5 or 6 miles to a post office and back to collect their money

When that post office closes it'll probably be 15 miles+....and they'll have to reopen tge garda barracks to hand out the money

Berserker

Think they have the status of a national institution among the older generations here, which speaks volumes about the nature of the services that are actually available to them.

thedeere

Is that you Michael Healy Rae with your sorting office and post office?

the_pen_turner

riffmongous wrote: »

Yep, the one place you would always be guaranteed to meet someone for a chat during the day

I was doing a job for a woman last week. she went to the post office one morning, she was 2 hours, its only 5 minutes from her. when she came back she had so much news , she had met several friends there and was chatting.

this is her only time to go into the village and meet these people.

Carry

The village post office is a kind of community centre, not only for local gossip but for all informations going on. Often they sell stuff (no rashers, though I've been in a post office in the West once that sold simple deli and necessary household stuff).

As a tourist you find out where is what, even accommodation if all B&Bs in the vicinity are fully booked ("I call Mary, she might have a room"), or where is the next decent restaurant.

And you find out why you can't send, say, perfume abroad and how to bypass that silly rule.
You meet people - even if you are not a pensioner or old - you haven't seen in a while and it's a nice catching up without the need to go to the pub to do so.

You can ask the post master to hold on to your mail delivery when you are on holidays, without going the official and as far as I know costly way.
They know exactly where you live, even if it's outside the village in the middle of nowhere. Hell, I once got a letter addressed "to the German girl, insert village, county".

They know that something is wrong when an elderly and/or lone person doesn't turn up for some time or the letterbox is overflowing or if anything is wrong around the house. They care.

The Irish village post office is an important institution. I'm a city girl from abroad but I would fight tooth and nail if anyone would even think about closing my local post office.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Careful now... we'll have the government banning the sale of stamps at below-cost price in order to force you to use them because they're - y'know - we need to promote tourism and culture...

DEFTLEFTHAND

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I was doing a job for a woman last week. she went to the post office one morning, she was 2 hours, its only 5 minutes from her. when she came back she had so much news , she had met several friends there and was chatting.

this is her only time to go into the village and meet these people.

But should a loss making entity be propped up to serve this purpose. They should think about opening up social clubs for the elderly in rural areas instead.

I know a little village near me who do this through the local community centre.

server down

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

But should a loss making entity be propped up to serve this purpose.

Yeh, why not. Screw neoliberalism.

(Anyway an post makes a profit).

Your Face

I only clicked on this thread because it was about Post Offices.

diomed

We got our freedom from a post office, that's why, you west Brit.

Phat Dick

Phat Dick wrote: »

Anytime an post try to close a post office,they're accused of killing elderly people but in most other eu countries traditional post office's are almost extinct, and social welfare payments aren't doled out in cash through post office's in other eu countries either, so how is it that elderly people in say Norway and Denmark can live their lifes happily without going to a post office to collect their pension but Irish elderly people will apparently die if they couldn't do that ?

Whatever about Norway and Denmark it certainly is very much an issue for our nearest neighbours.

It's an issue that parties have sworn to fight "tooth and nail" in Scotland...

https://www.scotsman.com/business/number-of-post-offices-in-scotland-drops-by-a-quarter-1-4537834

Meanwhile in England they are a "pillar of rural life", and campaigners speak of their social effect, services for the elderly and those with no transport (as other posters have mentioned).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/10/future-rural-post-offices-hang-balance-ministers-consider-change/

mikemac2

The local garda station is long since closed.....unless Minister Ross is your local rep

Daily mass is gone as the priest has to cover three parishes now

Ah OP, leave the locals their post office. An Post is making a profit anyway

Hector Bellend

xabi wrote: »

How many old Danes and Norwegians do you know? They do more than pensions you know, it’s a social outlet for a lot of old folks too.

Can they not just go to the pub?

whisky_galore

mikemac2 wrote: »

Ah OP, leave the locals their post office. An Post is making a profit anyway

€15.6m pre-tax loss last year.

the_pen_turner

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I was doing a job for a woman last week. she went to the post office one morning, she was 2 hours, its only 5 minutes from her. when she came back she had so much news , she had met several friends there and was chatting.

this is her only time to go into the village and meet these people.

But should a loss making entity be propped up to serve this purpose. They should think about opening up social clubs for the elderly in rural areas instead.

I know a little village near me who do this through the local community centre.

I agree with you.
But u think the solution is for an post to be made profitable or at least self financing. The problem is that the product they sell out is dying out . The general public aren't sending g letters or paying bills in the same way or volume
I think they need to become a courier service as well.

Chrongen

Phat Dick wrote: »

Anytime an post try to close a post office,they're accused of killing elderly people but in most other eu countries traditional post office's are almost extinct, and social welfare payments aren't doled out in cash through post office's in other eu countries either, so how is it that elderly people in say Norway and Denmark can live their lifes happily without going to a post office to collect their pension but Irish elderly people will apparently die if they couldn't do that ?

Pensioners like to go to the Post Office to collect their pensions and perhaps pay a bill or send some letters. This is important stuff. Official documents, paperwork, a form being stamped etc. Old people like this stuff. Gives them a sense of accomplishment. Then have a chat with an acquaintance and collect the newspapers and maybe have a pint then back home to put on the spuds. If it was all automated and just fired into their bank account they'd have one less important task to complete each week and would just sit in the house.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Chrongen

Tenigate wrote: »

Pretty much.

If the old fogies don't mind paying silly transaction fees, i see no reason to close their post offices.

A handling fee of 10% would probably make it worthwhile to run the post office as a commercial entity.

Not everything has to make a profit. Some things is society are important to have even if they are costly. That's the price of a having a happy society.

storker

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

But should a loss making entity be propped up to serve this purpose.

Why does everything need to make a profit? Some things are Just Services, and that's the best way to have them.

Deise Vu

It isn't only the social aspect of Post Offices there is also the economic benefit. It might seem small and insignificant, but if the locals are going to the nearest town they will also shop and transact all their business in that town. In an ideal world you would hope that a local village will have a pub, a post office, a shop or two, a doctor and a vet, maybe even a Garda stationed locally. This not only reduces unnecessary travel (saving the environment and all that) but money circulates within the village, there is a some level of local employment and the village doesn't shrivel up and become a dormitory for the nearest big town where nobody sees their neighbour until Spring.

Every piece of that jigsaw that is missing means it is more likely that the rest will disappear also. Do we really want a world where everybody lives in commuter hell?

blue note

As people say, it's not really about the actual service they provide - it's actually a social outlet for some people.

The automation of the world is a scary and sad thing. I was in the supermarket last weekend and didn't know where to look for a product so I googled it instead of asking someone as it was handier. Then went through self service because that was handier too. But that's the way the world is going, everything is being automated, you deal with people as little as possible. The world is improving in so many ways, but at great cost. If the world continues in the direction it's going in when I'm old I might get all my shopping done on-line, have it delivered by droids. All correspondence will be internet based, medical appointments will be mainly on-line.

It's a scary prospect.

storker

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

It can last if it's allowed to last, albeit with changes. I think some posters already have touched on a solution: let it be a local interface for a wide range government business, particularly the stuff that's being pushed online. Some older people are never going to get with technology to that degree, and why should they be penalised for it? What is so terrible about the post office being a net cost if it provides a useful service that also adds to people's quality of life?

I'm not a socialist, but this knowing the cost of everything and the value of nothing attitude drives me up the wall. Some things cost, but they're worth keeping anyway.

The pold people who use the services will die off eventually anyway, and then the bean counters can be happy fix their sights on the next thing.

BrokenArrows

Phat Dick wrote: »

Anytime an post try to close a post office,they're accused of killing elderly people but in most other eu countries traditional post office's are almost extinct, and social welfare payments aren't doled out in cash through post office's in other eu countries either, so how is it that elderly people in say Norway and Denmark can live their lifes happily without going to a post office to collect their pension but Irish elderly people will apparently die if they couldn't do that ?

Post offices in rural communities are rarely just post offices. They usually are part of a bigger shop.

Either way Norway/Denmark have an almost cashless society while Ireland is still living in the dark ages in a lot of places where cash is only accepted or they charge extra for a card payment.

whisky_galore

Deise Vu wrote: »

It isn't only the social aspect of Post Offices there is also the economic benefit. It might seem small and insignificant, but if the locals are going to the nearest town they will also shop and transact all their business in that town. In an ideal world you would hope that a local village will have a pub, a post office, a shop or two, a doctor and a vet, maybe even a Garda stationed locally. This not only reduces unnecessary travel (saving the environment and all that) but money circulates within the village, there is a some level of local employment and the village doesn't shrivel up and become a dormitory for the nearest big town where nobody sees their neighbour until Spring.

Every piece of that jigsaw that is missing means it is more likely that the rest will disappear also. Do we really want a world where everybody lives in commuter hell?

That's all very nice, but people will drive their SUVs to the bigger town or city and get a massive haul of shopping, by-passing all the mom-and-pop village shops.

An Post didn't close down the post office, the locals did. And they closed down the local pharmacy and small time shops...because not enough of them supported them. Add to that, An Post need to do more than the handful of services they currently offer.

Chrongen

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

But should a loss making entity be propped up to serve this purpose. They should think about opening up social clubs for the elderly in rural areas instead.

I know a little village near me who do this through the local community centre.

Does the Phoenix Park make a profit? Or any other park? I very much doubt it. So let's shut them all, sell them to some property developer who can turn them all into Tallaghts.

Wanderer78

BrokenArrows wrote:

Either way Norway/Denmark have an almost cashless society while Ireland is still living in the dark ages in a lot of places where cash is only accepted or they charge extra for a card payment.

It 'll be interesting to see what happens in these countries in the next financial/banking crisis, bank runs will be challenging!

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Cee-Jay-Cee

tomwaterford wrote: »

I see ould lads and neighbour having to walk
5 or 6 miles to a post office and back to collect their money

I would hazard a guess that there are very very very few old people having to walk anywhere anymore. I live in a typically rural area in Donegal and I can safely say I have never seen any old person walking on the roads around here, ever. They either have cars or get a lift, no one walks anywhere anymore and your experience is not typical of anywhere in Ireland. So to keep post offices open purely because there may be one or two old people living near you with no transport is not reasonable.

whisky_galore

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

This. Like just rural Ireland has dispensed with the local creamery, the blacksmith and the telephone box.

storker

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Eventually, granted., but I don't see the need to push things in that direction. It will happen in its own time.

Deise Vu

whisky_galore wrote: »

That's all very nice, but people will drive their SUVs to the bigger town or city and get a massive haul of shopping, by-passing all the mom-and-pop village shops.

An Post didn't close down the post office, the locals did. And they closed down the local pharmacy and small time shops...because not enough of them supported them. Add to that, An Post need to do more than the handful of services they currently offer.

I wasn't discussing the economics of what has gone wrong with local Post Offices (for what its worth I would say it is more to do with spiralling expectations for salaries since the 80's & 90's - repetitive tasks simply cannot be done manually anymore). I was just answering the question posed which was why are people obsessed with local post offices.

whisky_galore

Deise Vu wrote: »

I wasn't discussing the economics of what has gone wrong with local Post Offices (for what its worth I would say it is more to do with spiralling expectations for salaries since the 80's & 90's - repetitive tasks simply cannot be done manually anymore). I was just answering the question posed which was why are people obsessed with local post offices.

I think the OP answered his/her own question, the 'ah shur God love them' factor.

Widdershins

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I agree with you.
But u think the solution is for an post to be made profitable or at least self financing. The problem is that the product they sell out is dying out . The general public aren't sending g letters or paying bills in the same way or volume
I think they need to become a courier service as well.

They're part of the way there already with AddressPal Us and UK. Not a local service as such but good for them overall. I saved $40.00 on shipping on one item this week, by using AddressPal.

Mrs OBumble

tomwaterford wrote: »

It's where the dole and pension is collected....in many rural areas,many people on the dole have no car and public transport is non existent

So how are the ones on the dole going to get a job then?

And how do all of them get their groceries, and pints? Because I'll guarantee that they're not doing all their shopping in the same mam'n'dad shop which hosts the post office.

Also, the people who live in villages which don't have a post office seem to cope.

dd972

the_pen_turner wrote: »

its an outing to old people. a place to meet friends and catch up on local events

Talk sh!t about people you don't like or are envious of.

up for anything

Truly a nation of begrudgers. Where do we get the reputation for being charming, generous and happy go lucky?

Phat Dick

xabi wrote: »

How many old Danes and Norwegians do you know? They do more than pensions you know, it’s a social outlet for a lot of old folks too.

I know a few Danes because my uncle is married to a Danish lady, she can't get her head around that people would want to have their weekly entitlement counted out at the post office in front of everyone, she considers such a thing degrading.

Widdershins

Phat Dick wrote: »

I know a few Danes because my uncle is married to a Danish lady, she can't get her head around that people would want to have their weekly entitlement counted out at the post office in front of everyone, she considers such a thing degrading.

Its not really obvious what transaction is going on, it could be a bank withdrawal (if you're with AIB you can lodge/withdraw at An Post, I think), it could be that you're making a payment rather than receiving one. It's not verbally counted out or in view of the queue anyway, and I doubt the postmasters care.

Phat Dick

Widdershins wrote: »

Its not really obvious what transaction is going on, it could be a bank withdrawal (if you're with AIB you can lodge/withdraw at An Post, I think), it could be that you're making a payment rather than receiving one. It's not verbally counted out or in view of the queue anyway, and I doubt the postmasters care.

The swiping of the public services card would give it away in fairness:)

Widdershins

Phat Dick wrote: »

The swiping of the public services card would give it away in fairness:)

If you're looking over their shoulder.

hurler32

Fine Gael have closed most Garda Stations in Rural Ireland, next Step is the Post Offices whether people like it or not...Fine Gael are closing down Rural Ireland and must be chuckling to themselves in their Dublin headquarters as Rural Constituencies still vote Fine Gael. ...Turkeys, Xmas and all that ..

ED E

tomwaterford wrote: »

It's where the dole and pension is collected....in many rural areas,many people on the dole have no car and public transport is non existent

They collect their dole/pension and then make their way to Aldi in the nearest market town to spend it. If they can shop elsewhere (and they are, see closed convenience stores) they can make it to same to collect it.

Phat Dick

hurler32 wrote: »

Fine Gael have closed most Garda Stations in Rural Ireland, next Step is the Post Offices whether people like it or not...Fine Gael are closing down Rural Ireland and must be chuckling to themselves in their Dublin headquarters as Rural Constituencies still vote Fine Gael. ...Turkeys, Xmas and all that ..

Sure the government have just this week approved a €30million bailout/loan for an post.... which is almost certainly illegal under eu state aid rules