Relocating part of RTÉ to the GPO may help revitalise Dublin city centre, says senior An Post board member

Chair designate of An Post, Kieran Mulvey, did not rule out the prospect of a section of the broadcaster moving into the postal service's old HQ on O'Connell Street when the possibility was raised at an Oireachtas Committee.

Cathal Crowe TD agreed with Mr Mulvey that the iconic building may speak to an "older Ireland" and said its preservation is central to inner city Dublin.

He said there is speculation that Dublin City Council is reviewing the possibility of RTÉ having some presence at the GPO, which "may not be the worst thing in the world". The Fianna Fáil deputy asked if this has been discussed at board level.

Mr Mulvey noted that RTÉ started in the GPO and a friend of his was involved in broadcasting there. He said the building has Art Nouveau features in the facilities that were used by RTÉ, which were built during its reconstruction.

"So you could have a section, I would imagine, of RTÉ who could operate from there," he told the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications.

"I'm not going to suggest what section that would be, but I know when Kevin Bakhurst has been addressing staff he has mentioned the necessity to relocate some of their facilities, or some of their productions.

"Look, as I always say in these things, sometimes you have to think the impossible and it will happen. And it might revitalise part of the city because we can't have our capital, the main street of our capital, that has such historic import to the country a no go area."

He said he had been through the building, with its Palladian frontage, and said it was iconic as the centre of the revolution that led to our independence. "Unfortunately over the last number of years, the image of that has deteriorated because of anti-social or other activity," he said. He said he had been in the post office on pensioner welfare day and it is "not a pretty sight".

Mr Mulvey said he could not offer greater enlightenment on the future of the TV licence but An Post is still operating the collection. He said people could have a reaction to Revenue taking this over. Mr Mulvey said An Post lost about €2m during the RTE "debacle" but does not know if it is getting anything back in terms of the new subsidies to RTÉ. He said he does not like the fact that An Post must pursue prosecutions in relation to non-payment of the fee.

Duncan Smith TD said he believed the GPO would be quite an unusual place for the broadcaster to return to, but said the building had done a lot of heavy lifting in terms of bringing positivity to O'Connell Street.

Mr Mulvey said An Post is a great public company but sales of stamps are falling by 8 to 9pc a year, which is not usual as the same is happening in Europe.

He said it had reluctantly increased prices, but could not continue that indefinitely. He noted that Amazon parcels are delivered on a Sunday but this might be a sensitive issue for trade unions.

Mr Mulvey said An Post wants its borrowing cap lifted as it would like to explore joint ventures and consolidate mail delivery areas. He said An Post wants to expand its An Post Money service and there is room in the state for a third banking force.

He noted that there is a "tsunami" of scams going on, particularly for older people, as public services move online.