THE COST OF a national stamp is set to rise from 72 cent to €1, the Chief Executive of An Post has said.

David McRedmond said the price increase is about setting the right price and it is the “pretty much the average price across Europe”.

He told Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 the 28 cent (38.9%) increase is “absolutely necessary” and, at €1, the cost still represents “very good value”.

An Post, he pointed out, has the highest quality ratings in Europe, the best next day service in Europe and the best international mail service in Europe.

However, he said, he said money is needed to have all these services, noting: “It is so important for An Post to be properly funded.”

McRedmond said there has been a decline of nearly 50% in mail volumes “in most countries” and that this fall is expected to continue by between 5 and 10% each year.

He said, until now, prices have been kept artificially low in Ireland.

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Post office closures

In terms of closures, McRedmond said he couldn’t say how many post offices will close, but said as many post offices as possible will be kept open.

He said new plans will see post offices launch additional financial services, along with an expansion of the amount of licences that can be sold in post offices.

McRedmond said staff numbers will have to be reduced substantially over the next decade and there will be redundancies.

He said other post services that have been through similar restructuring have come out the other side and are now good, solid businesses.