The community of Lombardstown in North Cork is this week celebrating the installation of its long awaited computer to their local post office.
The people of the area have been relentlessly campaigning since October 2005 for the automation of their local post office to ensure its future in the village. Confirmation by An Post that Lombardstown Post Office was to be automated came in September 2009 which has been warmly welcomed by the Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee. The necessary adaptations have now taken place in the post office to accommodate the new computer which required improvements to security measures in the premises.
Welcoming the installation and commencement of the new computer, Tim Ring, Chairman of the Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee said “It is wonderful that we have reached this milestone today. I wish the postmistress Catherine Healy Byrne every success with the new computer and the new services the post office can now provide to the community. I also want to commend the remarkable support we received from the local community and local businesses in a bid to increase the level of business at the post office since 2005 which ensured the post office was seen as a viable business for the future”.
The additional services that are now available at Lombardstown Post Office since its automation are as follows:
Passport Express
All Bill Pay (Par payments accepted)
Courier Post
Garda Fines
AIB Banking Services
Parcel Services
Gift Vouchers
All Saving Services
Cash Withdrawals
Prizebonds
Cash Deposits
Credit Card Payments
Gun Licences
Phone Top Up (No additional charge)
The Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee was to the fore in raising the issue of automating rural post offices which for many years have been disregarded by An Post and the current government. The committee set out on a high profile campaign which resulted in the community taking their plight to save their local post office from the rural village of Lombardstown to Dáil Eireann ensuring the automation of rural post offices became a national issue.
After much lobbying by the Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee, An Post confirmed that it was now their intention to have a fully automated network which allowed for the computerisation of Lombardstown Post Office along with the remainder of the approximately 200 other non-automated post offices in the country being automated before the end of 2011.
Cllr. John Paul O’ Shea, PRO of the Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee said “It was a lengthy, tough and even sometimes felt like an impossible task to computerise our local post office. Nevertheless, we stuck with it and our fight proved successful. Today, we can now offer our community a full range of post services and equally as important continue what is a very important social link for our community”.
The postmistress, Save Lombardstown Post Office Action Committee and the people of the catchment area of Lombardstown Post Office will gather to celebrate the occasion of the automation of their local post office on Saturday 29th May 2010 at 11.00am. Everyone welcome.
