An outcry over the late arrival of post last Christmas has not resulted in an acceptable improvement in delivery times by An Post, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) said yesterday.

A survey showed that only 71 per cent of single piece mail was delivered the next day in the second quarter this year, down from 73 per cent in the first three months and well below the 94 per cent target set by ComReg.

In a statement, ComReg said the semi-state's sub-par performance suggests Government goals for high-quality postal services are not being met and asked An Post to "give the issue the priority it needs".

It is imperative that "significant improvements" are made and that An Post takes step to ensure there will be no repetition of the Christmas delays, ComReg said.

But An Post said ComReg's findings differed from its internal performance monitors, which show it operating at 88 per cent efficiency.

"We will be studying it carefully over the next few days," a spokeswoman said.

"The company is concerned about this variance in findings and we will be working with ComReg in an effort to identify the reasons behind it."

More than one million Christmas cards and other mail posted in the greater Dublin area in the last working days before Christmas arrived over a week late.

An Post said the exceptionally high volume of post was partly to blame for the late arrival.

Such was the ensuing anger, the Minister for Marine, Communications and Natural Resources sought assurances from the company that there would be no repetition of such hold-ups this year.