TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR officially opened An Post’s new headquarters in the Exo building in Dublin’s Docklands this evening.
The postal service has now moved from its historical home of the GPO on O’Connell Street to a new, modern office building overlooking the city’s port and quays.
The GPO will continue to operate as a post office and museum.
The new headquarters will host 900 employees on six of its eight floors, working in a wide range of capacities across the organisation.
“Leaving the GPO is a significant moment in An Post’s history, some might even say the ‘end of an era’. It’s also the beginning of a new one,” Varadkar told an audience that included An Post staff, public service executives, property developers and French ambassador Vincent Guérend.
The history of the postal service was the theme of both Varadkar and An Post CEO David Mc Redmond’s speeches, as was the architecture of the building itself, which is the tallest office block in the city.
An Post CEO David McRedmond told The Journal that moving into a new head office was “a milestone” in the history of the organisation, as well as an improvement.
“It is a milestone. An Post had been in the GPO forever,” he said. “So it was a big decision, it was a brave decision. It was made easier by the fact that the offices in the GPO were very old and falling apart, so it was great to make the move.”
The location of the building, at the heart of Dublin’s finance and technology district, is also appropriate, he said.
“We’re down here by the port, and by the port we’re in the middle of e-commerce, we’re looking at e-commerce and that’s where our future business is. That’s where An Post is now, we distribute e-commerce to the nation.
“So it makes sense to be here.”
Another theme in McRedmond and Varadkar’s speeches at the event was the environmental credentials of the Exo building, the construction of which achieved a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating (LEED).
This, according to McRedmond, was part of what attracted An Post to the site once the decision was made to leave the GPO.
“You know, we’re a leader in sustainability in this country, it’s important that we stay a leader in sustainability,” he said. “It’s in the top 2% of buildings in the world in terms of sustainability.”
Asked if it was fortunate that this quality of building was available when An Post needed a new home, he said, “maybe”.
“We also came at the right time and that was essential.”
Construction of the Exo building was completed last year and An Post had already signed up to move in before its completion. He also sees it as a positive that the building was owned by NAMA and has found a new purpose.
“It means we’re recycling in terms of the state. It’s good for the state to be able to move buildings on. So yeah, I think it’s a win-win.”
McRedmond has made a career as a corporate executive, previously holding top jobs at TV3 (now Virgin) and Eir, where he is still chairman. He was also a candidate for the role of Director General at RTÉ but was not selected for the role in the end after withdrawing his candidacy.
When asked about the ongoing scandal that has dominated Irish headlines over the last two weeks concerning undisclosed payments to presenter Ryan Tubridy, he was reluctant to comment on the situation directly but expressed his sympathy for those working at the national broadcaster.
“Because of all the publicity there was around me at the time, nobody would see me as being objective,” he said.
“I care very deeply for RTÉ, I feel very sorry for all the people there and by that I also include management and I include the board. These are a lot of people doing good work.
“Things go wrong. That has to be considered and things have to be looked at. But it’s not a happy situation for anyone and I just wish RTÉ the very best and hope it can move away from this quickly.”
In honour of the move to their shiny new head office, An Post is offering the public a free digital stamp that can be used on regular post in Ireland, which is available through the An Post app tomorrow (Friday).
The stamp can be used within a period of 31 days.
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