Elderly make costly trip for pensions

ELDERLY Kildalkey residents are being forced to travel to Trim, Athboy or Ballivor to collect their pensions following the closure of the postal agency in the village over three months ago.

The 'Postpoint' was located in Melia's Londis at Moyrath View and while there were limited postal services available, it was very convenient for local people to collect their social welfare payments there.

The shop closed on 11th May for renovations to be carried out and was due to re-open eight weeks later, but three months on there is no sign of the shop re-opening and people don't know how much longer they will have to go to other towns to collect their pensions, children's allowances and unemployment benefit.

Some pensioners have even had to hire taxis to bring them to Athboy to collect their pensions, which costs about €20 for the return journey, because they don't drive.

The signage at the Londis store has been removed and a sign in the window of the shop says that from Friday, 11th May, social welfare payments normally collected at Kildalkey Postal Agency would have to be collected from Athboy Post Office for a period of eight weeks and that they expected to have services returned to Kildalkey on 9th July.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused. However, this temporary arrangement is necessary for health and safety reasons while major renovations are being completed in Kildalkey Postal Agency," it says.

Although planning permission was granted to Mr Melia for an extension to the existing shop on 27th June, there doesn't seem to be any sign of building work at the premises.

Olive Broomfield, Kildalkey Wood, said she doesn't drive and gets a taxi to Athboy every two weeks to collect her pension at a cost of €20. She said it was not just elderly people who are inconvenienced, but also people collecting their children's allowance.

Ms Bloomfield said you could not post a small parcel or a big letter at the postal agency and had to go to Athboy.

"We can have two pubs in Kildalkey, but we can't have a post office," she said. She added that when people were coming around canvassing for the election, she said she would vote for them on the condition they get the post office back in Kildalkey. She said she got a letter from Noel Dempsey saying the post office would be reopening on 9th July, but that it "had come and gone" and it still hadn't reopened.

"It's ridiculous in this day and age. When I was growing up we had trains, we had post offices, we had more than we have now."

Kildalkey Community Council PRO Noel Kennelly said that about 90 people collect their pensions in Kildalkey and they now have to go to other post offices or have it paid into the bank, but he added that many older people might not have a bank account.

He said there were full facilities in Athboy and that there is a good postmaster, but added that smaller villages still need a post office.

Mr Kennelly said it is difficult for pensioners, especially widowed ladies who don't drive, to get to Athboy to collect their pension and added that there would be about 50 ladies living on their own in the village and that for them collecting their pensions on a Friday was also a meeting point.

He said the Londis shop had closed about eight weeks ago and that they thought it was for renovations, but that there didn't seem to be any sign of it reopening.

Alison Darling, who also lives in Kildalkey Wood, said there are a lot of older people living in the area and a lot of women who don't drive. She said they have a business and she works a lot from home and they "could be doing with some form of post office" where you could get letters weighed, buy stamps, etc.

Another Kildalkey resident, Martina Boyce, said that a small community needs a post office. She said it was a national service. The community is growing in Kildalkey and they should have one, even part time.

Attempts to contact Mr Melia regarding the issue were unsuccessful and a spokesperson for An Post said the closure of the agency was beyond the control of An Post and that when the shop closed there was nothing they could do to keep the postal agency open.

She added that the postal agency would be re-advertised in the "very near future."

Previously, there was a full sub-post office in Kildalkey, which was located at the Gala shop in the village, but this was downgraded to a postal agency in October, 2005. The owner gave up the agency and it was relocated in the Londis shop at Moyrath View over a year ago.

Thomas Gethin, who became proprietor of the Gala shop last November, said he has not had any approaches from An Post about taking over the agency, but that he would be open to the idea of taking it on, if it was feasible for him. He added that they still have the post office counter in the shop.