An Post has asked the Director of Telecommunications Regulation, Ms Etain Doyle, to sanction increases in the price of some international postage to stem losses at the company. An Post registered a loss of €14 million on its international business last year, based on turnover of €123 million.

The firm wants to increase the price of posting an ordinary POP letter (a letter under 50 grammes in weight) to Britain from 41 cents to 50 cents.

An Post has also requested permission to raise postage on an ordinary letter to other EU states from 44 cents to 57 cents. The firm says consumers will be able to avoid any increases by using its economy postal service.

Under An Post's application, the price of posting an ordinary letter to the US or outside the EU would remain unchanged at 57 cents, with the price of posting heavier letters to these destinations falling to 83 cents from 95 cents. The cost to consumers of sending bulky packets would be cut for all parts of the world.

It is thought the requested changes, if implemented, would not affect inflation. An Post's international business comprises areas over which it has a monopoly and areas where a competitive market exists. Last year, the company made a loss of €5.6 million on its monopoly business, and a profit of €10.8 million on the remainder.

In its submission to the regulator, An Post argues that costs continue to rise steadily in payroll, delivery, handling and air conveyance.

The regulator has invited comments from industry and members of the public to inform her decision on the price changes. Such comments should be made before November 26th, with Ms Doyle's final decision due in early December.

The regulator is responsible for monitoring the quality of the postal service, the price of the service to customers, accounting procedures and intra-EU cross-border mail services.

Last week, it emerged that a levy on An Post to cover the cost of this regulation was likely to be fixed at €1.1 million for the year to next June, down from the €2.5 million initially suggested by Ms Doyle.

An Post had claimed in a High Court challenge to the original levy that it was not required under European directives to fund the regulator. It also complained that it had not been given a breakdown of the costs incurred in any such regulation of the service. It claimed the cost of regulation would lead to a loss on its universal service obligation.

Ms Doyle attributed the cut in the proposed levy to the lower-than-expected costs involved in implementing the contract to monitor the quality of An Post's service. This was initially estimated at €1.3 million a year but is now thought to cost €250,000.