'World-class service': An Post confirms increase in the price of stamps

An Post has announced its to increase the price of a national stamp later this month. 

The cost for customers will increase by 25cent - from €1.40 to €1.65 - on Thursday, February 27 for personal customers and for business users on March 1.

The State-owned company says the latest increase is in line with global trends and below the EU14 + UK benchmark of €1.88 for a next day letter service.

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It says the price changes will cover the cost of providing a world class national letter service to every address taking account of wage increases for postal staff in line with national pay award, increased operating costs and letter volumes which have declined over 8% in the last 12 months and by 50% over the last decade.

An Post says it remains committed to providing a top quality, sustainable postal service to the door for all customers. 

Commenting following the announcement of the price increase, David McRedmond, CEO of An Post said :  “An Post’s priority is to provide a world-class service for the people and businesses of Ireland. To do this we need to be aligned with global postal trends that see large price increases to compensate for falling volumes due to e-substitution.

"We’ve worked hard to get the economics right on price for postage by introducing smarter work practices and reducing costs to keep our prices below the European benchmark average, and below the UK. While we manage the decline in postal, An Post is also investing heavily in the parcel and eCommerce business which is growing rapidly."

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Garrett Bridgeman, Managing Director of An Post Letters and Parcels, added: “An Post’s quality of service is amongst the highest in Europe.  We’re alleviating the impact on SMEs and personal customers by providing discounts and regular price promotions through the year at post offices and online."

Mr Bridgeman confirmed the current pricing for its Registered Mail Service will be retained after the price increase takes effect.

Customers are being advised that all existing stamps with ‘N’ (National) and ‘W’ (Worldwide) or specific euro denominations remain valid and fully usable after February 27, 2025.

An Post, which is an entirely self-funded commercial business, says the cost of the network is driven by the increasing number of homes in the State while revenue is determined by the volume of letters and price. 

PWC has assessed independently that the new pricing is consistent with the regulatory obligations and principles of cost-orientation, affordability and non-discrimination.