Bilboa Post Office Submission

Submission to An Post by the Bilboá Community September 2015
A Submission by the Save Bilboá Post Office Committee to
An Post in Relation to the Public Consultation Process
Regarding Bilboá Post Office. Submitted on behalf of the
Bilboá Community.
Compiled by James A Nolan

Bilboá and the Campaign Thus Far
Bilboá was founded in c1850 by Colonel John Staunton Rochford. It was then as it is now a
rural village. Located some 1000ft above sea level, on the Castlecomer plateau. The village
originally formed the accommodation for miners working the Rossmore mine. Currently the
village contains the post office, Trinity Church and Ardough National School whilst the the
wider area, serviced by Bilboá Post Office contains a pub and several sports clubs. The
population of this area according to the 2011 census is 2799 (See Appendices). The wider
Bilboá area is an extremely tight knit community with several families claiming ancestry
going back several generations.
Since notice of the An Post review and associated consultation was received there have been
concerted and focussed efforts in the community to ensure that all members are aware of the
threats to the future and viability of the Post Office. Firstly a committee was established to
represent the local community and organise support. With the committee in place the next
step was to inform the wider community that the formal consultation process had begun. A
multi prong approach was taken to achieve this including sending a letter to every house in
the area along with a highly visible poster and social media campaign. All these tactics
proved highly effective in raising awareness.
The letters delivered also detailed that there would be a public meeting in the local primary
school on the 27th August to outline in greater detail the threat facing the post office and
what steps could be taking to avert it. , with almost 300 people attending. Including several
politicians including the Minster of Foreign Affairs, President of the Postmasters Union, Mr.
John McGuinness (Chair of the PAC) and Deputy Pat Deering, representatives of local bodies
along with several members of the media. During the event there were many passionate
contributions from the floor and it was clear to all that there was open support for the
maintaining of Bilboá Post Office. It was stated that those wishing to keep the post office
should sign a petition or write to An Post.
After the public meeting the committee put its efforts towards collecting submissions. It had
become clear during the early stages of the consultation process that members of the
community were not fully informed about the level of services on offer at the Post Office. In
a combined effort with the Postmaster a pamphlet detailing the services provided by at Bilboá
Post Office was distributed to all houses in the local area.
A meeting was also held with delegates from An Post, Mr Angus Laverty and Mr Enda Kelly
on Thursday the 3rd
of September. During this meeting committee members were given the
opportunity to present their submissions in relation to the four criteria which will influence
An Post’s decision. The committee were grateful for the opportunity to make this
representation and to hear Mr Laverty and Mr Kelly’s clarification of the consultation
process. They were particularly heartened to be reassured that none of the four criteria will be
weighted more than others and that the all submissions will be considered as part of the
review.
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Network coverage needs
It is accepted by the committee that it is necessary during this process to examine the ongoing
requirements for a post office in Bilboá and the wider area. Based on the information
provided below it is the belief of this committee that there is a strong need for a post office.
The distance from alternative post offices via a poor road network make the coverage need of
Bilboá Post Office essential.
The Bilboá area due its rural location and high position in relation to phone masts is unserved
by a reliable phone service. It is difficult to receive a strong and dependable phone signal to
carry out a call never mind use mobile internet. There is also no cable broadband service in
the area and according to the 2011 census data 290 houses in the area have no internet access
of any type (See Appendices). These two factors ensure that online banking, bill-pay etc. are
not options in the area; the Bilboá Post Office is for many the only option to carry out many
transactions.
There are probably few other locations in the Laois, Carlow and Kilkenny area where the
social need for a post office is so great. Bilboá has little in the way of social infrastructure
and the surrounding area has less again. The Post Office is one of the few locations where
people from all walks of life can meet and communicate; it is a must needed social
instrument. In many ways it is the glue that binds the local community together. In current
Irish society isolation is a growing menace which particularly affects rural Ireland. For many
a trip to the Post Office represents much more than a simple transaction, it could be for soon
the only social contact they could have all day. The post office is also the foundation stone of
both the Bilboá Woman’s Group and the Bilboá Development Group. Both organisations rely
on the Post Office to carry out their banking and to inform the community of upcoming
event. The closure of the Post Office would severely undermine the ability of these
organisations to survive. All banking needs would have to be carried out in banks which is an
extremely cumbersome task as two members of the groups would have to be present to
undertake the simplest of transaction. The loss of the Post Office would have a massively
negative impact on the social fabric of the area.
There are many small businesses and farms in Bilboá and the wider area which rely on the
post office to carry out their day to day business, for example sending post at the end of the
working day. At present it is a small journey down the road to Bilboá Post Office however if
the post office were to close then this journey balloons as an alternative post office has to be
reached. These additional journeys have a financial and time cost, making it harder again for
local business to survive in the locality. The local school would also suffer from the closer as
Bilboá and the wider area would struggle to attract new family to the areas due to the lack of
amities.

Level of Business at the Post Office
While the level of Business at the post office is one of the four criteria of which a decision on
the closure of Bilboá Post Office will be made, this submission will only cover the subject
broadly as due to commercial confidentiality requirements the committee does not have
access to the intimate details of the post offices financials. However a separate submission by
the Postmaster James Brennan will deal with financial details.
While the level of business in Bilboá up until the start of the consultation process on the 19th
of August had been suffering a slow decline, there has been a real resurgence in custom since
the 19th
. This is due to the fact the people want to maintain this service in the area. Over the
past ten years there has been a constant pressure from organisations of every type to move
people away from face to face transactions. These range from paying bills online if possible,
to getting payment direct into our account. It is no surprise that local post offices like Bilboá
have suffered. However now that the local community in Bilboá are aware that by not using
the facilities within Bilboá Post Office they risk losing it there has been an increase in
custom. This increase can be maintained and steadily increased through the use of social
media campaigns, distribution of fliers and other marking strategies. Throughout the duration
of this consultation there has been an overwhelming outpouring of support from the local
community, this support has also begun to materialise in the form of additional custom to the
post office. There is great potential in the area for a young, dynamic and business savvy
postmaster like James Brennan to capitalise on the local good will garnered throughout the
past three weeks into footfall for the post office.
It is also noteworthy that the Bilboá Development Group is currently putting together a
blueprint plan on how to attract additional business to the area. This plan will focus mainly
capitalising on the rurality of the area as a natural tourist attraction. This plan would involve
the use of the post office as a provider of basic financial requirements such as cash
withdrawals.
According to the most recent census figures (See Appendices B) there are 2799 people living
in the area serviced by Bilboá Post Office. Up to the date of this submission being compiled
several hundred individual submissions have been submitted to the committee (additional
submissions may be submitted direct to An Post). Both these figures show there is potential
to grow the customer base of Bilboá Post Office. The postmaster’s own submission will
demonstrate in greater detail how this might be achieved.
4

Customer Access to Services Elsewhere.
If Bilboá Post Office was to close, the question of customer access to An Post services in an
alternative location would have to be addressed. As stated in the introduction, Bilboá is
located on the Castlecomer Plateau which rests upon the heights of Slieve Margy. Due to the
extremes of rural location and altitude (1000ft above sea level and 300ft above Carlow Town)
transport infrastructure is very poor. All arteries to and from the village are narrow, winding
back roads. The high altitude makes these roads extremely vulnerable to both ice and snow.
These two factors combined make travel very difficult during the winter months.
This is extremely important to note as if Bilboá Post Office closes there is no alternative post
office within a 10 kilometre radius. This is illustrated by the black circle on the map attached
in the appendices. Please see below the distance of the four closest alternative post offices as
taken from Google Maps.
- 11km to Old Leighlin
- 12.5km to Crettyard
- 13km to Carlow
- 18km to Castlecomer
The locations of the above post offices are also marked upon the map attached. Although An
Post are not responsible or at fault for the poor road network it is still worthy of consideration
that the vast majority of people are unlikely to spend time or accept the risk of impassable
roads in order to take their business to another Post Office. According to the census data a
total of 60 houses in the relevant area do not have a car (See Appendices).
It is also worth noting that the area is not serviced by any public transport. The cost of a taxi
fare to any of the above locations would be approximately €40, €20 there and €20 return.
This is a huge cost to incur and few would be in position to do so in particular those on a state
pension of €230.
At present 67%1
of pensioners who are customers at Bilboá Post Office do not drive. These
elderly members of community rely on lifts from neighbours or family. This is currently
feasible as the time required for pensioners to travel to and from the Post Office and
withdraw their pension is minimal. However if the Post Office closes the journey time will
increase making it extremely difficult for local people to take time out of their days to
continue to provide voluntary transport.
At the time of this submission 22%2
of customers generally walk to the Post Office. While
some of these are pensioners, the majority are under the age of 40. These people either walk
due to their transport situation or because the Post Office is located within a convenient
distance of their home.
If the Post Office in Bilboá closes all of the above customers will have to reassess their
relationship with An Post in regard to continuing their custom in an alternative Office.
Taking into account the poor road network, risk of ice and snow, distance of alternative post
offices, lack of public transport and the additional cost incurred in order to travel to an
alternative post office.
The committee feels that given the above information it would be unfeasible for current
customers to carry out their business at alternative Post Offices and the likely consequence
for An Post would be the loss of customers to banks instead.
1 According to current temporary Postmaster’s figures
2 According to current temporary Postmaster’s figures

Capacity of Neighbouring Post Offices
The committee has considered whether should Bilboá Post Office close would the alternative
post offices be able to manage and incorporate the current customers of Bilboá Post Office.
Once more the four alternative post offices are;
- Old Leighlin
- Crettyard
- Carlow
- Castlecomer
It is the view of this committee that there are two major issues surrounding the capacity of the
two closest alternative neighbouring post offices Old Leighlin and Crettyard.
Both Old Leighlin and Crettyard post offices lack any parking facilities for customers. At
present customers to these offices park on the road, having to exit their cars and unload
buggies, walking frames, children etc. by the roadside. Both of the offices are located on
extremely busy road which offer little in terms of safety. It is neither safe nor practical to add
additional customers to these post offices which at present cannot offer their customers
parking and safe access to their promises. If elderly customers or parents with young children
cannot be offered safe and secure access to neighbouring post offices then it is hard to come
to the conclusion that these offices have the required capacity to absorb additional customers.
Nor is it logical that existing customers of Bilboá Post Office would take their business to a
post office which cannot offer them an equal level of service that they currently experience.
Both of these post offices also have question marks over them in terms of internal capacity as
both are small shops. At present customers at Bilboá Post experience minimal queuing, which
is unlikely to be the case in Castlecomer or Carlow.
If the alternative post offices cannot provide a level of service equal to that experienced in
Bilboá post office in terms of parking and service times then their likely capacity to integrate
additional customers must be questioned. In all likelihood if Bilboá Post Office closes, it
existing customers will take their business to the bank rather than suffer poor service coupled
with long travel times to neighbouring post offices.
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Appendices
2011 Census Data from Central Statistics Office
Census Small
Area
Includes Townlands Population Males Females Househol
ds
17012001 Bilboá,Clogrennan 339 183 156 124
17012002 Craanlusky, Tomard
Lwr
240 121 119 85
17040001 Boolyvannanan 432 211 221 126
17043001 The Butts, Seskinrea 273 131 142 86
97077001 Coan, Coolcullen 454 239 215 158
97076005 Croghtenclough 258 122 136 78
107004001 Ardough, Gortahile,
Monavea
343 171 172 109
107087001 Rossmore, Springhill,
Killeshin
460 235 225 140
TOTALS 2799 1413 1386 906
Census Small Area Includes Townlands Children aged 0-18 Children aged 0-
12
17012001 Bilboá,Clogrennan 86 40
17012002 Craanlusky, Tomard Lwr 57 18
17040001 Boolyvannanan 116 87
17043001 The Butts, Seskinrea 93 82
97077001 Coan, Coolcullen 126 84
97076005 Croghtenclough 90 55
Monavea
104 75
Killeshin
138 100
TOTALS 810 541
Census
Small Area
Includes Townlands Houses built
since 2006
Household
s with no
car
Househol
ds with no
computer
Househol
ds with no
internet
17012001 Bilboá,Clogrennan 28 14 38 40
17012002 Craanlusky, Tomard
Lwr
7 6 28 31
17040001 Boolyvannanan 42 13 35 43
17043001 The Butts, Seskinrea 18 6 30 35
97077001 Coan, Coolcullen 49 8 43 46
97076005 Croghtenclough 9 9 22 26
Monavea
13 5 32 38
Killeshin
12 8 26 31
TOTALS 178 69 254 290

This submission was compiled by James Nolan chairperson for the Save Bilboá Post Office
Committee with the knowledge and approval for the committee on behalf of the wider Bilboá
community.
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