Postal Services in Ireland

Postal Services

Postal service providers

Anyone can set up a postal business to handle any form of mail as long as you do not provide the services which only An Post is allowed to provide. If, however, your annual turnover is greater than €500,000, you need a postal service authorisation from ComReg. Authorised providers are required to draw up a code of practice covering customer complaints and redress. They must also make sure that they meet essential requirements in relation to the postal services they provide, for example, security of mail and protection from loss or damage.

A complete list of postal service providers authorised by ComReg is available on its website.

Universal service provider

As the only universal service provider, An Post must provide a universal service to everyone and every organisation in the State. This involves at least one collection and one delivery five working days a week (that is, Monday to Friday) of postal items and postal packages. It must provide the following national and international services:

• clearing, sorting, transporting and distributing postal items weighing up to 2kgs
• clearing, sorting, transporting and distributing postal packages weighing up to 20kgs with target delivery times and prices based on a published tariff
• services for registered items
• services for insured items with compensation of up to €4,600 for items lost or delayed
• support services including:

- redirecting post

- sending books abroad

- minding post (Mailminder)

- business reply / Freepost

- private boxes or bags

- issuing free certificates of posting

- providing free postal service for blind or partially sighted people

An Post is also required to provide full and unconditional bulk mail access at 43 locations in the State.

Further information is available in ComReg’s publications The Universal Postal Service - a working definition (ComReg 05/85) (pdf) which describes the basic package of postal services and Regulation of the Postal Services - Universal Service Obligation - Bulk Mail Access (ComReg 07/06) (pdf) which are available on ComReg’s website.

An Post’s other services

An Post also provides postal services that do not fall under the universal service requirement including: Express Post, Passport Express, Philatelic Services (dealing with stamps) and Courier Post. About a quarter of An Post’s turnover comes from non-postal services including financial services, collecting TV licence fees, printing, computer software, digital certification and security, business directories and property development.

Information on all of An Post’s services, as well as the services available through the network of local post offices is available on An Post’s website.

Monitoring of postal services

ComReg monitors An Post’s compliance with its legal obligations with regard to the price, quality and choice of the universal services it provides and may issue directions to An Post, after consultation with interested parties. ComReg may also initiate enforcement procedures if appropriate.

ComReg is required to measure the quality of service provided by An Post, and to publish regular reports. There is an official European Standard (EN13850) setting out how this should be done. The measurement is continuous and results of An Post's performance are reported in information notices published by ComReg each quarter. The measurement relates to single piece mail only, i.e., performance of large scale or bulk mailings are excluded from this measurement. ComReg has set targets of 94% for next day delivery and 99.5% for delivery within 3 days. The most recent results achieved are available on ComReg's consumer website.

ComReg’s regulatory role for An Post’s postal services that do not fall under the universal service requirement is much more limited. It can only make sure that An Post has adequate complaints procedures in the provision of these services and that there is no cross-subsidy between these and the universal services.

ComReg has no regulatory role over An Post’s non-postal services. They are subject to normal commercial law.

ComReg ensures that other postal service providers who have a postal service authorisation from ComReg draw up a code of practice covering customer complaints and redress. They also ensure sure that they meet essential requirements in relation to the postal services they provide, for example, security of mail and protection from loss or damage. Postal service providers with an annual turnover of less than €500,000 are not regulated by ComReg.

Parcels from abroad

If a parcel or package comes from outside the European Union (EU), you must pay the VAT and any duties that you owe, before the parcel is delivered to you. If the parcel comes from another EU country, it is not subject to VAT or duties, as these are already included in the price of the goods within the parcel.

The manner in which VAT and customs duties are collected depends on the company that delivers the package and varies from one provider to another. One of three situations may apply:

• The delivery provider pays the fee to clear the item from customs and then charges you directly
• The delivery provider tells you the relevant charge and asks for payment before delivering the package to you
• The delivery provider lets you deal directly with the Revenue Commissioners

The amount charged for clearing postal items through customs is up to the delivery provider and can vary from one provider to another. Usually these charges are based on a percentage of the value of the goods stated to be in the package, with a minimum charge of between €5 and €25. You should contact the delivery provider for a list of the charges.

Postcodes

Ireland is the only country in the European Union without a system of postcodes. The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 legislates for a national postcode system.