Sir, As chairman of CORPO (Conserve Our Rural Post Offices), I write to ask Mr John Hynes, Chief Executive of An Post to answer publicly the following questions
(a) Am I correct in thinking that only 600 post offices out of about 1,900 in the Republic of Ireland are computerised? (b) How many post offices does An Post intend to computerise? What time scale has An Post in mind for this work? (c) On what basis are post offices computerised? What criteria must be fulfilled before An Post install a computer in a post office? I think the public at large deserve to know the answers to these questions.
The reason I am writing this letter is I have read very recently that An Post is still intent on a policy of "closure by stealth" by excluding 800 post offices from its computerisation plan. This has been my own fear all along and a general statement from Mr John Hynes that my concerns are unfounded will not be enough to allay my fears. I ask him to state publicly his answers to my questions outlined above. Failure to answer these questions will only confirm that my fears are well founded. Yours, etc., Waterville, Co Kerry.