Sir, – “Coalition to consider options for licence fee overhaul and RTÉ bailout” (News, August 19th) refers to a “bailout” of An Post in 2017. This misrepresents the reality. An Post was granted a Government loan of €30 million in 2017, which fully met the criteria for EU state aid. The funds were used to transform the company. The loan will be fully repaid on time from An Post’s own resources generated from the return to growth and profit. We are grateful to Government and commend their foresight that An Post would use the loan for transformation, and ultimately repay it.
The article refers to a “bailout” last year of €30 million. There has been no bailout and no recourse to Government funding by An Post. The postmasters, independent owners of post offices, have negotiated a €10 million per annum income subvention from Government for three years to help them recover from the effects of the pandemic. None of this money goes to An Post.
Far from a Government bailout each year, the pandemic cost An Post over €50 million per annum in Covid-related costs to keep every route open every day, so that Irish people had access to goods. All this was fully funded by the company from its own resources generated by its own successful transformation from 2017 to 2020. There was no Government financial assistance for the pandemic period. Everybody at An Post is rightly proud of the company’s commitment to the citizens of Ireland at that time.
As a company committed to its stated purpose “to act for the common good, now and for generations to come”, An Post’s essential role is as a public service; but it is also a successful, independent, commercial enterprise. – Yours, etc,
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DAVID McREDMOND,
CEO,
An Post,
Dublin 1.