Postal Liberalisation A 1997 Directive on the application of competition rules to the postal service required the opening of the market to competition. Limited services can be reserved for the universal service provider. The first directive provides for common rules in relation to universal postal service reserved services to the universal service provider, tariff principles and transparency for accounts quality standards, harmonisation of technical standards […]
COMREG Regulation COMREG regulates the postal sector. An Post was established as a public company in 1984. Its sole shareholder is the State. A Post may return or refuse postal packets which do not comply with the terms of its scheme or contain objectionable matter. Providers of postal services must obtain an authorisation. EU regulations allow for the provision of a compensation fund where the […]
EU cross-border parcel delivery services Regulation (EU) 2018/644 — cross-border parcel delivery services It aims to: improve price transparency and regulatory oversight; and ensure that citizens and small businesses have access to reasonably priced cross-border parcel delivery services. Scope The regulation sets out rules for cross-border parcel delivery concerning 3 main aspects: regulatory oversight of parcel delivery services; transparency of certain single-piece tariffs through publication […]
National Postcode System The Civil Communications Regulation of Postal Services Amendment Act 2015 provides for the national postcode system. The system assigns a unique seven-digit postcode to each postal address. The legislation facilitates the holding, retention and processing of data in connection with the system. The legislation provides for legitimate postcode activity. The Minister may specify new legitimate postcode activity. The legitimate postcode activities include […]
Background The first postal service in Ireland commenced in the 17th century. A 1711 Act unified the post office for England Scotland and Wales and Ireland. Later, an independent and distinct Irish post office evolved, centred in Dublin controlled by its own Postmasters General. In 1831, the Irish and British post offices were amalgamated. In 1835 the Post Office took over the running of the […]
An Post The shares of An Post are issued to the Minister for Finance. Originally, the postal company had a monopoly. An Post remains the dominant postal service provider but has been subject to communications regulation derived from EU Directives on liberalization of State monopolies. The legislation now provides for the grants of the licences to provide postal services. These functions have been transferred to […]
Liberalisation The European Union Directive on postal service liberalizes access to the postal market. The directive established a timeframe for progressive liberalization in two stages: On 1st January 2003 letters weighing less than 100 gram of which the postage cost is over three times that of a standard letter. On 1st January 2006 letters weighing less than 50 grams (for which the postage cost is […]