An Post
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An Post (English literal translation: 'The Post', English official title: The Post Office) is the State-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a universal postal service to all parts of the Republic of Ireland and is a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post; parcel service; deposit accounts; and Swiftpost, an all-Ireland next-day delivery service.
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[edit] Background
An Post came into being in 1984 when, under the terms of the Postal & Telecommunications Services Act, 1983, the delivery services of the Department of Posts & Telegraphs (P&T) were divided between two new organizations: An Post and Telecom Éireann (the latter being the telecommunications operator now called Eircom). At its inception, during the early years of the Irish Free State, the Department of Posts & Telegraphs was the country's largest department of state, and its employees (most of them postmen) constituted the largest sector of the civil service.
Today An Post remains one of the largest employers in the State, although it has undergone considerable downsizing. It is still loss-making in parts.
The Irish government intends introducing a postcode system to Ireland on 1 January, 2008[1] though An Post is against the system because they say it is unnecessary.[2]
[edit] Subsidiaries
An Post is involved in a number of subsidiaries–some of these it has complete ownership of; others are partly owned by An Post such as the An Post National Lottery Company and the Prize Bond Company Limited.
[edit] An Post National Lottery Company
An Post holds the licence to run the national lottery of the Republic through its subsidiary An Post National Lottery Company. All employees of An Post National Lottery are seconded from An Post, and as such employed and paid by An Post rather than the subsidiary.
[edit] An Post Transaction Services
In 2003, An Post set up a new division to run its post office and transaction services business, entitled An Post Transaction Services or PostTS. It rebranded its post offices network as "Post Office" or "Oifig an Phoist" with a new white and red logo, and introduced banking services in conjunction with Allied Irish Banks. It also introduced a service whereby newsagents could provide some Post Office services, entitled PostPoint. This was thought to have reversed a downward trend in business. PostTS also expanded abroad, with operations in the UK and Spain.
In 2005 PostTS sold its foreign operations. The rebrand of Post Office was partially reversed after some criticism, with the traditional An Post logo restored to Post Offices (the red-and-white symbol has been dropped from Post Offices, but remains in use for the company's BillPay.ie website and for PostPoint). The original PostTS shop front design which featured predominantly English branding "PostOffice" with the location in English, has also been replaced with the Irish language "OifiganPhoist", with the location in both Irish and English (the PostOffice logo can still be seen, but at smaller locations is typically only on a hanging sign, not the shop front). At this time this change is complete at almost all premises.
[edit] Joint venture with Fortis
On the 5th of October 2006 An Post signed a final agreement for the creation of a joint venture with Fortis to provide financial services through the Post Office network. The new venture will will offer a range of financial products and services to the Irish market, including daily banking, savings products, insurance, mortgages and credit cards.[3]PostPoint and the company's insurance business, One Direct, will become part of the new company, which will have access to the Post Office network.[4]
[edit] See also
- Postal addresses in Ireland
- Communications in Ireland
- General Post Office (Dublin)
- List of Irish companies
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Dempsey announces programme to introduce postcodes in Ireland by 1st January 2008 (retrieved 15 January 2007)
- ^ [2] RTÉ An Post is against codes plan (retrieved 15 January 2007)
- ^ [3] An Post Website Fortis and An Post sign final agreement on creation of financial services joint venture in Ireland (retrieved 24 February 2007)
