Return of An Post services to Doolan’s in Blueball "not being ruled out" - Nolan

A definitive end to An Post services at Doolan's in Blueball “is not being ruled out” according to Independent TD for Offaly, Deputy Carol Nolan.

Having engaged with An Post officials following the abrupt cessation of its service to customers at the Doolan's Spar store on the outskirts of Tullamore, Deputy Nolan said the company does appear to “have been caught off guard” by the impact of the Eir upgrade on systems, and added that she was informed that “due to security reasons that were totally unforeseen, it was necessary to transfer the services to Tullamore.” She said An Post had acknowledged to her that this was “deeply inconvenient and far from ideal.”

The An Post agency services were terminated following an Eir fibre broadband upgrade that was found to be incompatible with the An Post IT network.

Deputy Nolan was assured, in a direct meeting with An Post, that while services are still available for Blueball customers in both Kilcormac and Tullamore, a definitive end to the service at Doolan’s is “not being ruled out” and will depend on the level of investment that may be needed to align An Post’s IT system with the Eir fibre broadband upgrade and the necessity of maintaining security on the network.

“I certainly want to see the return of services to Doolan’s and I hope this can be achieved sooner rather than later. I have been assured by An Post that it is actively exploring pathways to establish if this can be achieved while guaranteeing the security of its own system and crucially, that of its customers” said Deputy Nolan, who has pledged to “engage constructively” with An Post and keep the local community updated on further developments as they occur.