Cost of international mail from Ireland set to rise

Consumers face yet further price increase after the Commission for Communications Regulation sanctioned increases in the cost of sending mail abroad by An Post.

The changes, which had been requested by An Post in October, will see the cost of sending a standard letter to Britain increase from 41 cent to 50 cent, while the cost of sending a similar letter to other European countries will now be 57 cent, up from 44 cent.

The cost of sending a letter, which weighs less than 25g to the US, Australia and other countries remains unchanged, while the cost of sending a 26g-50g letter will actually fall by eight cent to 83 cents

However, Irish postal users will still have the option of using An Post’s ‘economy’ service which means that they will still be able to send international mail at the old prices.

ComReg said that An Post prices for international mail are still generally lower than its European counterparts. It said that despite the new price changes, An Post will still have a shortfall to make up to cover the cost of sending international mail. It said this gap must be filled by cost reductions rather than further price increases in the future.

Last March, An Post successfully applied to the then telecoms and postal regulator Etain Doyle for an increase in the price of sending a standard letter within Ireland and to the UK from 38 cent to 41 cent.