Mr. Alex Chisholm:

That is a wide question, and given An Post's central role in the postal service, it relates crucially to the future of post in the country. Given the wide changes taking place, our expectation - which is also the expectation of An Post - is that there will be a further reduction in the volume of mail it processes, An Post's relatively small net margins and its sensitivity to scale, it is vital that, like any other business facing a big reduction in its revenues, it is able to manage its costs in line with this. This is a critical factor. ComReg is responsible for ensuring An Post has appropriate incentives for efficiency with regard to the price cap and any assessment of the universal service burden, which is also under European law. A second factor is that An Post may need to consider price increases with regard to the formerly reserved area of the core letter business and other areas. There were a number of price increases in the early part of the year. As I stated earlier, we are in the process of dealing with a price application for core letters. From our point of view, appropriate price increases that are in line with the requirements of the 2011 Act will form part of the overall response to the situation in which the company finds itself.

Outside ComReg's area, undoubtedly An Post will need to develop other streams of revenue and make the most it possibly can of the considerable assets it has, not least its reputation and reach throughout the country. These are outside the areas of regulation.