Letter boxes plan may not deliver

AN POST was warned yesterday that it can’t go ahead with its plan to introduce 500,000 roadside letter boxes unless it is approved by the industry watchdog.

But the company staunchly defended its decision to end door-to-door deliveries in rural areas.

According to the Telecommunications Regulator, the proposal on the 500,000 kerbside boxes is still at the public consultation stage.

Telecoms regulator Etain Doyle told the Dáil Communications committee she was currently seeking people’s views on the issue.

“No decision will be implemented until we have sat down and come to a conclusion. An Post is not in a position to implement this programme unless a decision is made. What precisely will be the details will be decided by the regulator,” she said.

But An Post chief executive John Hynes says the plan to end door-to-door deliveries in some areas is essential to return the company to profitability.

The move has the support of the majority of the public, he said, as an opinion poll conducted by the company showed two thirds of people were in favour of the introduction of kerbside post boxes.

Already there are 80,000 of these post boxes used in the country and people using them seemed to be quite satisfied with the service, Mr Hynes said.

Putting the post boxes in place will cost €30 million but will save the company €20m a year, giving a return after just 18 months.

Denying that the post boxes could be easily vandalised or the mail stolen, Mr Hynes said the boxes were secure and cost €95. Packets, parcels and registered letters would still be delivered to the door. Elderly and disabled people would not be compelled to have the end of road post boxes installed, he said.

The communications committee chairman Noel O’Flynn said he believed the vast majority of people would accept the kerbside box system but he was critical of the company’s failure to consult with the public before taking the decision.

More importantly, Mr O’Flynn said he was concerned about the company’s finances with losses expected to rise to €18m this year, after a deficit of €7m in 2002.

“I’d worry about the future of An Post in the next five years with the total liberalisation of the market. In my view, there cannot be a conclusive business plan, it doesn’t have a strategic partner and has not concluded negotiations on a redundancy package with the workforce,” Mr O’Flynn said.

And Ms Doyle also appeared to accept that the company was facing difficult challenges as postal quantities were not rising. Envisaging An Post’s future, she said she wanted to see competitively priced, high quality services on a par with anything in Europe.