By Business & Finance 
Pictured: David McRedmond, CEO of An Post
An Post, the national provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland has responded to the Covid-19 crisis with a number of supportive initiatives.
An Post has responded to the Covid-19 crisis with a number of supportive initiatives aimed at helping customers across the country. The state-owned provider of postal services for the Republic of Ireland has been announcing new initiatives over the past few weeks to help communities as this crisis has unfolded.
Most recent is the announcement that postal delivery staff will check-in on older/vulnerable customers along their postal routes across the country. An Post CEO David McRedmond has said that the delivery staff are all security-cleared, capable and clued-in. He has said that the focus for the company at the moment is on helping their customers.
The focus of everyone in An Post now is on doing all we can to help customers through this difficult period and playing our part in the national effort to contain Covid-19.
An Post has also responded to the crisis by offering a free mail and parcel pick-up service for housebound customers and the company is currently setting up a newspaper-ordering and delivery service for all customers in conjunction with national and local newspaper groups.
Furthermore, An Post will deliver a further three million free postage-paid postcards to include all prisons, nursing homes and homeless accommodation facilities to help people send messages to family and friends. This last initiative is a follow-on from a delivery of cards to the State’s 1.8 million households across the country in the last weeks. The cards can be sent, free of charge, anywhere on the island of Ireland. McRedmond has encouraged people to use the cards.
Write to your grandparents or older relatives and friends who are self-isolating; write to someone who is living alone or who could do with a boost. Send a note to your cousins or friends. Let them know you’re thinking of them. Send thanks to our outstanding healthcare and all those working so hard to get us through this crisis.
These facilities are in addition to other resources offered by An Post to customers including the opening of post offices at earlier times to allow older customers conduct their business before others and for those affected by Covid-19 to nominate a ‘temporary agent’ who can act on their behalf by completing, in advance, a form available at post offices and online.
