An Post: stamp increases to cover cost inflation and impact of falling letter revenue
An Post is taking action to safeguard national delivery services and equal access to letter services nationwide, for uniform prices, despite more European postal companies stepping back letter services due to falling volumes and rising costs, The national stamp will increase by 20c from €1.65 to €1.85 on Tuesday 3rd February for personal customers in line with global trends and below the EU14 + Britain benchmark of €2.04 for domestic next day letter service.
A new €3.50 stamp for letters to anywhere in Europe, including Britain is being introduced, an increase of 85c. A new Rest of World stamp priced €3.95 is required to stem significant losses on this category of outgoing mail due to a 38% fall in international letters over the last three years.
More than 50 % of outgoing international mail is destined for Britain, Germany and France which is why An Post has introduced this new Europe and Britain €3.50 rate, rather than apply the higher Rest of World rate to this category. In the UK, the equivalent European stamp costs €3.90. Rates for large envelopes, packets, over-the-counter parcels and Registered Post will also rise, as will rates for the innovative national and international Digital stamps.
The price changes are carefully calculated to cover the cost of providing a world class national letter service to every address. taking account of wage increases for postal staff in line with national pay awards, increased operating costs and letter volumes which have declined by 7% in the last 12 months and more than 50% since 2016. A similar rate of decline is forecast for 2026.
An Post is an entirely self-funded commercial business owned by the people of Ireland and providing a world class public service. The national Letter service runs on a fixed cost network which enables next-day delivery anywhere in the State for a uniform price. The cost of the network is driven by the number of homes in the State, which is increasing by 30,000+ each year, labour and other input costs, while revenue is determined by the volume of letters posted and price. As letter volumes decrease and costs rise, prices must increase to ensure that services remain sustainable.
An Post’s pricing strategy is consistent with the regulatory obligations and principles of cost-orientation, affordability and non-discrimination.
Due to falling levels of international letters, and rising costs, steep increases are necessary in the prices for sending letters of all sizes abroad. While meter post, most bulk mail rates and stamp booklets prices will increase from 3rd February, SMEs can still avail of discounts for posting parcels through the An Post Advantage Card. There will be stamp booklet promotions during the year, starting with new Love/Wedding stamps in early February.
This price increase also ensures An Post’s commitment to Sustainability. In late 2025, An Post achieved, ahead of target, 50% reduction in carbon emissions, a key milestone in its commitment to achieving net zero across the business by 2030. Electric vehicles now account for more than 50% of the delivery fleet and An Post’s HGV fleet moved from diesel to hydro-treated vegetable oil in Q4 last year, reducing emissions by more than 90%. Investment to date, all from An Post’s own resources, means that all deliveries and collections within Irish cities are already emission-free.
Garrett Bridgeman, Managing Director of An Post Mails & Parcels said: “An Post’s priority is to support the Irish economy and communities by providing world-class services for the people and businesses country wide. We work hard on the economics of the business by introducing smarter work practices and managing costs to achieve fair, cost-reflective prices below the European benchmark average, and below the UK, despite falling volumes due to e-substitution. An Post remains entirely self-financed. Our quality of service is amongst the highest in Europe and we continue to innovate in the provision of vital services for the Irish economy and local communities. I’m pleased to confirm that An Post’s Community Focus supports including free postage to all nursing and care homes will continue throughout 2026.
“Increasingly, European countries have reduced letter delivery frequency to once or twice a week and now deliver to mail boxes outside the home or to central collection points. While An Post continues to design future generation mail services to suit customers’ needs, the company is committed to retaining the option of a next-day national service to the door, by trusted, trained postal staff in a growing fleet of emission free vehicles”, he added.
Conscious of our older and vulnerable customers, An Post staff will continue to check in on customers, particularly those living alone in isolated rural areas, during spells of bad weather. The free delivery service for all letter and parcels up to 1kg posted to residents of Nursing and Care homes in the State will be continued. The An Post-sponsored free Carepack service, for example, has reached over 120,000 residents since 2020.
