asked the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs if he will arrange for the provision of a letter box at Ballyroe, Athy, County Kildare.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Kildare Letter Box.
11.
The provision of a letterbox at Ballyroe would not be warranted by the use likely to be made of it.
Is the Minister aware that residents in the Ballyroe area have to travel three-and-a-half miles to post a letter and does he not think they deserve better facilities than that?
The facilities provided are equivalent to those provided generally and those which in the past have been provided for small rural districts in thinly populated areas like this. The delivering postman carries a stock of stamps and accepts letters for posting. That is normal procedure in such cases. I think these standards are reasonable in the circumstances.
Would the Minister not agree that a service provided by a postman delivering letters which would not allow time to reply by return to letters is not very satisfactory? Is he aware that in the time of a previous regime a post box was provided in that area and now that postmen are mechanised it should not involve any undue hardship to have an evening collection in such an area?
An evening collection could be provided only by diverting a contract mail vehicle a distance of three-and-a-half miles a day and the cost of extending the contract service would be out of all proportion to the small amount of correspondence that would benefit. Postings in the box, if one were provided, would be unlikely to exceed 12 a week, I am informed.
Would the Minister not consider that it would be better to have one postal official travel three miles a day rather than have a certain number of people from Ballyroe travelling three-and-a-half miles into Athy?