An Post plans radical changes to the way it delivers letters by introducing secure outdoor letter boxes in a move that could save the company €20 million a year.
The State group, which faces a financial crisis, has issued a tender for 500,000 letter boxes with locks, and plans to begin deploying them by June.
The letter boxes will be placed at the end of people's driveways as close to a public road as possible to speed up the delivery of post in both urban and rural areas.
In some rural areas, boxes for a number of households may need to be installed at the end of private roads or cul-de-sacs under the new plan, according to tender documents seen by The Irish Times.
An Post wants to phase out its traditional service which delivers mail direct to everyone's doorstep as it deploys the new boxes throughout the State. It has calculated this will produce annual savings of €20 million and could generate additional savings worth up to €15 million.
The new strategy would reduce the number of postmen and vehicles required to deliver post throughout the State. It would also reduce insurance costs and wear and tear on its vehicles.
The contract for the supply of the 500,000 letter boxes will cost An Post more than €10 million, but it plans to distribute the letter boxes free to households.
The letter boxes will be theft- proof and corrosive resistant and generally will be mounted on a gate or pillar on a public road. Aesthetically, they should complement both rural and urban residential households, said An Post.
The plan was developed by An Post in response to a paper published last year by the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation, which suggested the firm should develop strategies to deal with the proliferation of once-off housing that made postal collection inefficient.
New statistics show that one in three new houses are built in this manner, putting further pressure on An Post's already stretched domestic postal service.
A spokesman for An Post said yesterday the company wanted to introduce the new secure box scheme throughout the State and not just in rural areas. "We believe this \ ought not to be confined to rural areas. It is just as valid in urban areas as well," he said.
"It must be remembered that Britain and Ireland are the only two countries in Europe which provide door-to-door deliveries. Everyone else has an a type of outdoor letter box."
He said An Post would continue to provide a direct service to people's doorsteps for certain people on specific request, such as the elderly or people with disabilities.
However, Senator Jim Higgins of Fine Gael said yesterday that the proposals would herald the end of the traditional door-to-door deliveries in rural areas and would represent "another blow to rural Ireland".
"I have no doubt but that An Post welcomes such a move ... however, the Minister for Communications is the main shareholder in An Post and he should tell the company in the bluntest possible terms that such a move would be totally unacceptable," said Mr Higgins.
A final decision on whether An Post can stop providing postal deliveries direct to the home may be made by the the Commission for Communications Regulation. A public consultation process has already been initiated by the Commission and it has the power to block An Post's plan.
A spokeswoman for the Commission for Communications Regulation said no decision would be made until after the consultation.
An Post has developed the plan over the past few months and is expected to submit it formally to the commission later this month.
The strategy has been prepared in the context of the financial crisis at An Post. Late last year, An Post management forecast losses of €37 million for 2002 and €27 million for this year. It anticipates a return to profit in 2004.
Implementation of the new postal strategy would begin just before the current chief executive of An Post, Mr John Hynes, is scheduled to step down. Mr Hynes announced last year that he will step down from his post at the end of his current contract in July following 13 years in the position.