The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said that neither the country nor An Post can afford a postal dispute.
Mr Ahern said he understood that the National Implementation Committee would meet tonight to try to bring both sides together.
More suspensions of postal workers are likely this evening in a dispute which has already seen a total of 420 suspensions.
Earlier, postal worker group, the Communications Workers' Union, said it will be happy to go into mediation with An Post to resolve the dispute.
The CWU's national officer, Sean McDonagh, told RTÉ Radio that the union – which represents postal workers – was 'absolutely' happy to go into mediation.
An Post's Director of Corporate Affairs, Larry Donald, meanwhile, has called on the union to deliver on the deal that staff had already been paid for. 420 workers have been suspended so far.
People advised not to post letters
People in Dublin and in parts of Counties Wicklow, Meath, Monaghan & Louth have been advised not to post letters.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern, said the dispute could be addressed by the State's industrial relations mechanisms.
The minister said neither the country nor the company could afford a dispute at this time.
Earlier, a senior manager at An Post, Eoin Morgan, said he expected the dispute to get worse. He added that the company would keep customers advised on developments.
Speaking on RTÉ radio, Mr Morgan blamed the CWU for not delivering on deals. However, he ruled out going to the Labour Relations Commission, saying An Post had no choice but to implement deals that had been bought and paid for.
In advertisements taken out in today's national newspapers, An Post requested customers ‘not to post any mail until further notice in Dublin City and County’.
