Müller: No ‘silver bullet’ for An Post’s costs

The incoming chairman of An Post has warned that maintaining the existing post office network while still keeping the cost of its postal services affordable represents “a very fine balance”.

However, An Post chairman designate Christoph Müller yesterday promised that An Post would act as “a fair broker” in representing the interests of society and the need for An Post to remain competitive.

Mr Müller, better known as the chief executive of Aer Lingus, said the company would look at extending the range of products and services offered by An Post as a measure which would enable some post offices, which would otherwise face closure, to remain open.

He claimed the introduction of such services was necessary to compensate for declining mail volumes Mr Müller said the introduction of a national post code would allow An Post to achieve savings in its sorting centres which could be used to subsidise other areas of its business.

However, Mr Müller warned that customers would have to overpay for some An Post services to enable the company to cross-subsidise what he described as “the last mile” — the delivery of post to the final address.

He claimed the traditional post office and postman were what made An Post one of the most trusted brands in Ireland but the final leg of its delivery service was the most unprofitable part of its entire business.

Appearing before the Oireachtas Communications Committee, Mr Müller said there was no “silver bullet” which would rectify An Post’s financial situation. He also pointed out it would be wrong to jump to the conclusion that what had worked for postal services in other countries could be easily replicated in Ireland.

Mr Müller noted that Ireland had the lowest rate of postage use in western Europe with an average of just 150 letters sent per person each year.

While the growth of online retail held out both opportunities and threats for An Post, Mr Müller was highly critical of broadband speeds in many parts of the country.

“Outside the M50 it is very patchy,” he remarked, adding that printing an airline boarding pass “is an exercise in itself in the Midlands”.