Tag: Republic of Ireland

Web households heaviest senders of mail

Posted by | Feb 13, 2007 | |

Research released by An Post shows that households with internet access are the heaviest senders and receivers of mail in Ireland.

A total of 61pc of households that regularly send mail have internet access, and of those that send the heaviest volumes, six or more items each week, 64pc have internet access.
The findings are part of a survey on over 600 households’ daily experience of correspondence sent and received, and direct mail. The research was carried out by tns mrbi on behalf of An Post, and participants were questioned about their access to the internet and email, frequency and quantity of mail received and sent, methods of posting and destination of sent mail.

In terms of households that receive addressed mail – which was practically all of them, 59pc have internet access, with that figure rising to 74pc for households that receive more than six items per week. The survey showed that those with access to email are also heavier receivers of addressed mail, with 58pc of households that receive six or more items a week having access.

With regard to social-economic class, ABC1s are the heaviest receivers of both addressed and unaddressed mail. 47 per cent of households that receive six or more addressed items a week are ABC1s, as are the same percentage of those receiving four or more unaddressed items per week.

Over one third of all addressed mail now contains some marketing content, and, of direct mail, 86 per cent is read by the recipient, with over a third kept for future reference.

Liam Sheehan, An Post director of sales and marketing, said, “The survey shows there is a direct connection between internet access and sending and receiving mail – those with access do more of both, which is perhaps surprising given the common perception that use of the internet and email discourages use of the postal system. A challenge for the industry is the finding that just over half of direct mail was described as relevant, but its potential as a powerful marketing communications tool is evident from the amount that is kept for future reference.”

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ComReg approves 15% rise in cost of Irish standard letter postage to 55 cent

Posted by | Feb 9, 2007 | |

The Irish Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has today, following a public consultation, concurred with An Post’s application for an interim increase in the price of the basic stamp from 1st March next.
ComReg is the National Regulatory Authority for the postal sector in Ireland and its prior approval is required for postal rate changes in the reserved area. While prices for domestic standard letters (up to 50g) will now be 55c, prices for mail in the 50-100g category (for example, a typical large letter) will fall from 60c to 55c. In addition, business customers using An Post’s Ceadúnas (Permit) services or meter franking machines will receive a discount of 1c per item, thereby paying no more than 54c for a basic letter.
According to ComReg, An Post outlined in its application that it has absorbed significant cost increases including wage increases of 18.9% under National Wage Agreements, since August 2003, when the price of posting a basic letter was last increased. These cost increases are clearly significant given the nature of the postal service. Other companies have been faced with similar cost increases, and as a result consumer prices generally have increased by almost 11% over the period August 2003 to December 2006. An Post estimates that its price proposals will increase postage costs by slightly less than consumer prices generally.

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Licence expected for An Post/Fortis joint venture

Posted by | Jan 16, 2007 | |

The Financial Regulator is expected to grant a banking licence to the new An Post/Fortis joint venture following approval for the joint venture by the European Commission.

A senior banking source predicted last night that a banking licence would be forthcoming from the Regulator for two reasons.

An Post subsidiaries One Direct and PayPoint are already in successful operation around the country, while Fortis is a leading financial institution in a number of Continental markets.

Former Aer Rianta chief executive Margaret Sweeney has been appointed chief executive of the new An Post/Fortis banking joint venture which will provide a broad range of retail banking services to the Irish market, including daily banking, savings products, insurance, credit cards and mortgages, through the Post Office network.

Application has also been made to the Irish Financial Regulator for a banking licence.

An Post chairperson Margaret McGinley and chief executive Donal Connell congratulated Ms Sweeney on her appointment, describing it as another important milestone in the establishment of the new Irish retail bank.

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The European Mail Manifesto: growth, partnership and innovation in a changing industry

Posted by | Jan 12, 2007 | |

The Postal Users Group has issued a manifesto on the main interests of business users of postal services to encourage the European Commission to take the postal users needs into account when it is preparing its next proposals on postal services this year. PUG, an alliance of the major postal users representing 15 trade associations and businesses, points out in its manifesto that the postal services cover a very wide range of businesses and systems. The letter mail business of Europe´s postal operators represent about 1 million jobs and revenues of 47 billion euro; however, PUG shows that the wider sector accounts for an additional 4 million jobs and over 150 billion euro of revenues.

Contents (i)
List of figures (ii)
List of case studies (ii)
List of annexes (ii)
Signatories (iii)
Foreword (iv)
Author’s Foreword (v)
Executive summary (vi)
1. Introduction 1
2. The postal segment of the mail industry
3. The broader mailing industry 17
4. A shared vision for the future 25
5. Conclusion 33
Annex 36
Bibliography 38
P:LibraryPostalEuropean Mail Manifesto PUG 0706.pdf

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An Post banking venture faces tough market

Posted by | Jan 7, 2007 | |

An Post’s banking joint venture with Belgian giant Fortis faces a difficult start in the coming months after new figures showed the Post Office Savings Bank failed to retain most of the euro140 million paid out to its Special Savings Incentive Account (SSIA) holders last year.

Figures for the year ended December 2006, show An Post savers switched their money to other institutions when their SSIAs matured, as its savings bank struggled to match eye-catching deals from rivals such as AIB, Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank.

The bank’s total deposit base grew by just 3 per cent to just over euro1.5 billion last year.

Balances in non-SSIA savings accounts grew by 8 per cent, or euro99 million, just euro8 million more than the increase recorded in 2005, despite last year’s release of euro140 million held in SSIA accounts that had reached the end of their five-year term.

The growth rate of 8 per cent significantly lagged the increases in deposits recorded by other banks, which were about 15 to 20 per cent last year.

The savings bank is also expected to face an uphill battle to retain SSIA funds worth a further euro300 million, which are held in accounts that mature between now and April.

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