The review by Grant Thornton, commissioned by the Irish Postmasters Union, has said the network is at a “critical juncture”.
It recommended that Government provide €17 million a year in support, in order to avoid large-scale post office closures around the country.
That has just essentially halved the volume of transactions and footfall in every post office.
Sean McDonagh from the Communications Workers Union, which represents An Post workers, said the pandemic has made a bad situation worse.
“We believe that the single biggest difficulty facing a post office at the moment is the decision by the department and the Government to pay social welfare payments fortnightly, which had been paid on a weekly basis up until Covid,” he said.
“That has just essentially halved the volume of transactions and footfall in every post office.”
Responding to the report’s findings, An Post said it recognised the decline in footfall and incomes during Covid-19 and is working with Government to address the issues.
