An Post has threatened a price rise following yesterday's decision by the communications regulator that the company cannot force customers to accept roadside letter boxes.
ComReg chairwoman, Ms Etain Doyle, said An Post would be breaking the law if it went ahead with plans to oblige customers to accept deliveries to a postbox at the side of the road in place of a doorstep service.
The plan was "fundamental" to the company's survival, according to An Post. The service stands to lose at least €18 million this year.
Speaking after her decision yesterday, Ms Doyle said that widespread mandatory provision of roadside letter boxes was "neither possible in legal terms, nor desirable".
An Post must have the customer's consent before they can provide a letter box, Ms Doyle has ordered.
"A sledgehammer approach to this issue will not work." An Post spokesman, Mr John Foley, last night branded the decision as "very negative".
The company was "extremely disappointed" he said as it had envisaged significant savings from the introduction of the letter boxes. An Post had been left with no option but to raise its charges.
"Even at this stage, it is clear that we cannot avoid a further price increase application which might involve higher prices for rural deliveries."
The row over the letter boxes began when The Irish Times revealed in January that An Post sought manufacturers for 500,000 boxes, without consulting Ms Doyle.
ComReg subsequently embarked on a public consultation process and received more than 1,000 submissions on the matter. Ms Doyle's decision is in response to these submissions.
In February, An Post appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Communications to explain about the letter boxes and its financial difficulties.
