The president of the Irish Postmaster's Union has said An Post's decision to increase the price of the stamp is "hugely disappointing".
Sean Martin, a postmaster in Tramore, said postmasters were not asked for their opinion even though they were the ones "that have feet on the ground" and daily face-to-face contact with customers.
"I've no doubt it's business consultants that probably haven't set foot in a post office that have made this decision."
It comes after An Post announced that the price of a stamp will increase by 25 cent to €1.65 later this month.
An Post said the rise takes account of wage increases for postal staff, increased operating costs, and a continuing fall in the volume of letters being posted.
Letter volumes have fallen by 8% in the last year, 40% since 2017, and by half in the past decade, according to An Post.
Its figures state that 93% of letters are now generated by businesses or Government bodies, with just 7% comprising personal cards and letters.
'Hurt the most vulnerable in society'
However, Mr Martin said the change would hit the most vulnerable in society who post mail and cards through the system in order to stay connected.
"This is going to hurt the most vulnerable in society, and the isolated because they're the people that actually are posting the mail throughout the system, because it's important that they get mail regularly so that they're not they don't feel isolated."
Mr Martin told RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne that the decision to increase the price of stamps will also make things less viable for post offices because a third of their revenue comes from letters and parcels.
This will have a negative knock-on effect for the whole community, he said.
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"Making it more and more difficult for a customer to come into the post office is going to affect the post office. And your local post office is going to affect the community, because invariably the money that we hand out in the community is spent locally; that sustains jobs locally, and it creates jobs locally. And if you make it less and less viable for post offices, it will affect communities as well."
Self-employed postmasters are suffering during the cost-of-living crisis, but An Post is refusing to deal with them about this, he said.
Mr Martin suggested it might be time to look at "a Ryanair model" and reduce the costs to see if this will encourage people to send more mail.
But it is going to get more difficult, he said, because as the cost goes up, the volume falls.
An Post said the new price - which comes into effect on 27 February for personal customers and 1 March for business users - is in line with global trends and is lower than many other EU countries and the UK benchmark price of €1.88 for a next-day letter service.
It also noted that in Denmark, where the volume of letters has declined by 85% since 2008 the price of a next-day-delivery stamp is €5.23 - though stamps that do not cover next-day delivery in Denmark are cheaper than that.
The cost of stamps for international letters is also increasing - from €2.20 to €2.65. The rates for large envelopes, packets and parcels to international destinations will also rise.
Under the changes, a digital stamp will rise by 22 cent to €2.22.
However, nursing and care homes will continue to receive post for free for the remainder of 2025 and there will still be stamp discounts for SMEs.
Since the beginning of 2023, An Post has now increased the price of a stamp on three occasions.
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'Not about making big profits'
Managing Director of An Post Mails and Parcels said the company does not like increasing the price of a stamp but that the cost of delivering a letter has risen by 40% since 2020.
This means our revenue is down but our costs remain the same, Garrett Bridgeman said.
Mr Bridgeman added that postal prices are increasing globally because people are sending fewer letters.
'We operate a fixed cost network. So for us, essentially, whether your postman or woman is delivering three letters to your home or one, our costs remain the same, but our revenue is actually down."
Even if we decreased the cost of a stamp, it would not increase people's usage of the postal service, Mr Bridgeman said.
He added that An Post makes about a 4% margin on its letters business and all of this is invested in its infrastructure, people and technology.
In addition, people really value postal service, Mr Bridgeman said, and the societal service it provides.
"Checking in on the elderly, seeing if they're okay, see if they need anything. This is a vital role."
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Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said that the service of a second class stamp in the UK is not comparable to the service with An Post's next day delivery.
"The second class service is spread over three to four days so it's not comparable really with our next day.
"If you look in Europe the average price is €1.88 and even if you look at the higher end, the price of a stamp for next day delivery in Denmark, for example, is €5.23, so this price increase really is at the low end. It's not about making big profits for An Post."
He insisted that the price increase is "not about making money for An Post".
An Post is an independent company and does not get State financial backing, he added.
Pricing is continuously reviewed and this will be the last price increase for this year, he said.
He said the average person spends about €10 a year on postage costs and the increase will add about €2 annually to their costs.
Commenting on the increase, An Post CEO David McRedmond said: "We've worked hard to get the economics right on price for postage by introducing smarter work practices and reducing costs to keep our prices below the European benchmark average, and below the UK.
"An Post remains entirely self-financed (having repaid a government loan in full in 2024).
"While we manage the decline in postal, An Post is also investing heavily in the parcel and eCommerce business which is growing rapidly."
Any existing stamps with 'N' (national) and 'W' (worldwide) or specific euro denominations remain valid and are fully useable after 27 February.
