The price of an Irish domestic stamp will increase by 10c at the beginning of next month, An Post has announced today (Wednesday, January 11).
The 8% rise will bring the cost of a single stamp to €1.35, although an international stamp is not set to change, and will remain at €2.20.
In addition, customers will not see a price increase for the recently introduced digital stamp, which will remain at €2 a piece.
However, other services such as redirection and registered post will increase as well, with all changes set to come into effect on Wednesday, February 1.
In a statement, An Post said that the price increases come due to inflationary pressures and rising transport, fuel, energy and operations costs, all of which are involved in letter services.
It added that these price increases will help to cover these costs and allow efficient operations to continue.
“An Post prices remain below the current average European tariffs for high quality, next-day letter delivery services.
“The average price of a comparable national stamp across the principal EU and UK countries is now €1.69.
“An Post is committed to the provision of top quality, sustainable, personal next-day service to the door for all customers across the country unlike several other European countries where service quality has fallen or letter deliveries are made just once or twice a week,” it added.
There will be a slight discount for those who use mail services regularly, with the price of a ten-stamp booklet totalling €13 or €1.30/stamp, while a 100-stamp roll will work out at €1.25/stamp.
Small and medium enterprises can also avail of this lower price by signing up to the An Post Advantage Card programme, and the company has also stated that it will continue to run extra discounts on special stamps throughout the year.
“There has been very significant input cost inflation across our business, most particularly in fuel at 25% this past year, and energy at more than 60%,” said Garrett Bridgeman, managing director of An Post Commerce.
“We have made every effort to minimise the necessary price increases by spreading them across our products and services, while working to ensure top quality, sustainable services for all customers, regardless of where they live.
“We will continue our huge transformation with innovative new letter products and services for the future.
“Through innovations such as our world-first Digital Stamp with notified delivery, we will protect our customers and support Irish firms who are doing business at home and expanding across the globe, while ensuring safe, decent work for our staff,” he concluded.