Directors of An Post are said to have questioned the purpose of and value of their roles at an extraordinary meeting of the board on Friday.
There is understood to have been vague talk of resignations and explicit expressions of frustration that the company’s board was not able to make key strategic decisions in relation to the running of the business because of difficulties and repeated delays in obtaining the required ministerial approval.
At the centre of the board’s concerns were its plans to establish a new centralised sorting office, an increase in the company’s borrowing cap, which has been set at €75 million since 1984, and a proposal that a salary of about €350,000 should be set for incoming chief executive Fergal Leamy, who is due to succeed David McRedmond after the latter leaves An Post at the end of this month.
The Government has authorised significant pay rises for a number of chief executives in other commercial State companies on foot of a review carried out last year by the Senior Posts Remuneration Committee, which found remuneration packages had fallen out of alignment with the market.
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Following the publication of the review in April last year, the Government established a new system for pay bands for the top roles in commercial State companies. Boards were invited to opt for a specific point on these bands which Ministers would subsequently consider.
[ An Post board in row with Minister over pay, borrowing limits and future strategy ]
Over recent months various Ministers have, for example, approved a €100,000 increase in the pay of the top executive at Uisce Éireann and €60,000 for the chief executive of Dublin Bus as well as rises of around €30,000 for the head Waterford and Dublin ports.
In An Post’s case, McRedmond’s basic salary was listed as €250,000 in its 2024 accounts. The An Post board, reportedly, proposed a salary of between €350,000 and €360,000. However, this was not approved by Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan. He opted for a salary rate of a little short of €275,000 for the new chief executive, a rate which was later endorsed by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers.
[ An Post lines up former Glen Dimplex boss Fergal Leamy as next chief executiveOpens in new window ]
The board meeting on Friday is said to have been told the figure was causing problems in relation to finalising the appointment as it was below both the company’s and Leamy’s expectations. Some disappointment is said to have been reported.
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In a letter sent to O’Donovan on foot of the meeting, the board asked the Minister to reconsider the figure while it also pressed for decisions on the borrowing and sorting centre.
It is understood that the Government is not being asked for funding for the new project, but its approval is required.
There is a view in the company that Leamy would be expected to meet certain targets in relation to the company’s performance but without the freedom he would expect to have in such a role.
The borrowing cap is considered important as it also affects the ability of the firm to provide commercial credit terms to companies that use its parcel delivery service and expand its processing capacity.
The centralised sorting office, meanwhile, is seen as vital to An Post’s ability to grow a parcels and packages business that is running at near-capacity, having quadrupled since early in Covid when it reached what were then record levels.
The growth in the parcel delivery side of the business has played a key role in the company’s transformation, which saw it reporting a turnover in excess of €1 billion for the first time in 2025.
There have been significant shifts within the business, though, and the Government has been supportive in some areas including a commitment of €15m annually to postmasters to help support the post office network. The company, however, is said to be paying that money itself at present then waiting to be reimbursed at a later date.
When the board met for what was a regular, scheduled meeting on Tuesday, the directors were told Leamy had decided to accept the role, but the company continues to pursue approval for the higher salary level. Further lobbying of Ministers is expected.
