An Post (literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, parcel service, deposit accounts, Express Post (an all-Ireland next-day delivery service), and EMS (international express-mail service).
Background
An Post, the Irish postal service, came into being in 1984 when, under the terms of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, the Post Office services of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (P&T) were divided between An Post and Telecom Éireann, the telecommunications operator (rebranded as Eircom after privatisation in 1999 and in 2015 as Eir). At its inception, during the early years of the Irish Free State, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs was the country's largest department of state, and its employees (most of them postmen) constituted the largest sector of the civil service.
Prior to this, the Post Office in Ireland had been under the control of various Postmasters General, Irish and British, with the appointment of Evan Vaughan as postmaster in Dublin in 1638, generally accepted as the date for the establishment of a semi-formal postal system in Ireland.[2] Oliver Cromwell's Postal Act of 1657 created a combined General Post Office for the three kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, and England; the position was affirmed by Charles II and his parliament by the Post Office Act 1660.[2]
As of 2020, An Post remains one of Ireland's largest employers but it has undergone considerable downsizing. In 2020, Munster's only sorting centre in Little Island, Cork closed. The closure of individual branches in rural areas has become a significant political issue. In 2014, all parts of An Post made a profit for the first time in eight years.[3] As of 2018 there were approximately 1,100 An Post offices and over 100 postal agents across Ireland.[4]
The Irish government announced the introduction of a postcode system, Eircode, in Ireland from 2008[5] though An Post was against the system at the time, saying it was unnecessary.[6] The introduction of Eircodes took place on 13 July 2015, after almost a decade of delays.[7]
All parcels arriving in Ireland pass through An Post's mail centre in Portlaoise, where customs officials are on duty to inspect them.[8]
An Post adopted its current logo on 14 December 2018; it did not make its first appearance until 13 March 2019. On branded signage, individual post offices are labelled Oifig an Phoist or (in English) 'Post Office'.
On 22 June 2023, An Post moved from its historic headquarters in the General Post Office building on O'Connell Street in Dublin to new premises at North Wall Quay.[9]
Subsidiaries and joint ventures
An Post is involved in a number of joint venture operations and also has several subsidiaries. It has complete ownership of some of these, while it is part-owner of others, such as the An Post National Lottery Company and the Prize Bond Company Limited.
An Post National Lottery Company
An Post held the licence granted by the Minister for Finance to run the National Lottery through its subsidiary, An Post National Lottery Company until February 2014. All employees of An Post National Lottery Company were seconded from An Post, and as such were employed and paid by An Post rather than by the subsidiary. Since 2014, the National Lottery has been operated by Premier Lotteries Ireland, in which An Post is a stakeholder.[10]
An Post Transaction Services
In 2003, An Post set up a new division to run its post office and transaction services business, entitled An Post Transaction Services or PostTS. It rebranded its post offices network as "Post Office" or "Oifig an Phoist" with a new, white-and-red logo, and introduced banking services in conjunction with Allied Irish Banks
Developments
In 2009, An Post sponsored a postcard project, called "C Both Sides", which ran for a year, with the public being invited to create postcards on different themes.[26]
In February 2012, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) launched legal proceedings against An Post over the quality of its service. An Post said it was "puzzled" by the decision.[27]
In August 2018, it was announced that all post offices serving communities of fewer than 500 people (excluding offshore islands) were to be closed.[28] However, three of these 159 branches were "spared" closure following local campaigns at Ballinskelligs (Kerry), Cliffoney (Sligo), and Ballycroy (Mayo).[29]
See also
- GPO Museum (ex An Post Museum)
- Communications in Ireland
- List of companies of Ireland
- Postage stamps of Ireland
- Postal addresses in Ireland
- List of national postal services
External links
References
- An Post Annual Report 2019 An Post, retrieved 2020-04-17^
- Stephen Ferguson. The Post Office in Ireland: An Illustrated History Irish Academic Press, 2016^
- Careers An Post, retrieved 23 November 2009^