Royal Mail launches investigation after Irish language letter returned to sender

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news ... 37003.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail has said it is launching an investigation after a letter addressed in Irish was returned to its sender.

Piarais Mac Alastair took to Twitter after a letter he sent to Boucher Road addressed in Irish was returned to him by Royal Mail, saying the addressee was unknown and there was no such address.

A Royal Mail help account replied to Mr Mac Alastair saying that standard procedure would have been for the postal worker to refer the letter to their line manager who would have the letter translated in-house.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman told The Belfast Telegraph that they were investigating complaints around the issue.

They said that they will be reminding all staff of their policy on the issue.

“We apologise if a few customers have experienced delays with items of mail addressed in Irish. We fully understand these concerns raised by them and are investigating these complaints. Every item of mail is important to us and we typically pride ourselves on high levels of service," the spokeswoman said.

“Royal Mail fully recognises the cultural importance of the Irish and Ulster Scots languages, We are committed to fulfilling its obligations and responsibilities, as set out in current national and European agreements. Royal Mail also recognises the need to balance the requirements of our customers for an efficient value-for-money service, with the need to acknowledge our responsibilities as a major organisation operating in a society with diverse cultures. This has always been and remains our approach.

"Royal Mail handles Irish language items on a daily basis and the overwhelming majority of these are delivered without any difficulty. This is true, as long as the house or premises number and postcode appear correctly on mail items. On some occasions mail could be marked as we translate the location of the address. We are reminding all our staff of our policy and we will be taking appropriate steps to prevent this happening again.”​

Responding on Twitter, former Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall O'Donnghaile said the issue was an "ongoing problem" and requested a meeting with "a representative of senior management in Belfast".

[TrueBlueTerrier]

After all that the address on the letter didn't exist.

Controversial Irish language letter 'not delivered because of incorrect address' https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news ... 50114.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



An undelivered letter - which drew controversy due to a belief it had not been delivered because it was addressed in Irish - actually carried the wrong house number, it has emerged.



On Saturday, Royal Mail announced it had launched an investigation after it was accused by a Twitter user of not delivering a letter which had been addressed in Irish.

Piarais Mac Alastair took to Twitter after a letter he sent to Boucher Road in Belfast addressed in Irish was returned to him by Royal Mail.

A label attached to the letter said "the addressee was unknown" and there was "no such address".

One social media user described it as "shocking treatment of Irish speaker".

"They returned a letter with a clear address and post code on it saying the address did not exist," he said ending with #AchtAnois, the hashtag used by campaigners calling for an Irish language act.

Former Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall O'Donnghaile said it was an "ongoing problem" and has requested a meeting with "a representative of senior management in Belfast".

It has now emerged the letter, which was addressed to "UBE" at number 14 Falcon Road, did not carry a valid property number.

Royal Mail confirmed there was no number 14. There is, it appears, a 14b, and an Ulster Business Equipment is located at number 13.

After the initial complaint was made and investigation launched Royal Mail said the letter should have been translated and then delivered. It said staff would be reminded of the policy.

The carrier said it handles Irish language items on a daily basis, and "the overwhelming majority of these are delivered without any difficulty".

"Royal Mail also recognises the need to balance the requirements of customers for an efficient, value-for-money service, with the need to acknowledge our responsibilities as a major organisation operating in a society with diverse cultures. This has always been and remains our approach."