Tag Archives: Brian McMahon

PANDEMIC restrictions are putting increased pressure on rural post offices, as the move towards a cashless society accelerates, according the post master for Scariff and Feakle. Brian McMahon said that while rural post offices had been commended as centres of help and support for the community, there was no real recognition from government of the pressures created by Covid-19 restrictions. “The government is striving for a cashless society,” he said. “That has meant more payments to bank accounts, rather than in person at the post office. The reality is that communities need cash and in some cases, we are the major supplier in places where there is no bank or cash point in many areas.” Mr McMahon added that the terms of the new contracts issued to post masters were not as favourable as those issued two years ago. “Under the old contracts, we counted our transactions over a three-year period,” he noted. “Now we are counting them month-by-month. As …

A PUBLIC meeting focused on saving rural and urban post offices and retaining social welfare payment services through the post office is taking place in the West County Hotel this Thursday at 8pm. Postmasters all over Ireland are worried that post office services in communities are under threat. The meeting is organised on the back of a major campaign instigated by the Irish Postmaster’s Union (IPU), which represents 1,100 people throughout the country, demanding the Government produce an action plan to ensure the sustainability of the Post Office network. The nationwide campaign began last Sunday in Sligo and a series of meetings of postmasters is currently underway across the country. Brian McMahon of Feakle Post Office, the second-oldest post office in County Clare after Killaloe, has said the concern is that there is a move to have social welfare and pension payments made directly into bank accounts. “A motion goes before the Dáil next week in support of the postmasters. …