Union representatives from the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) are continuing their meeting this afternoon to discuss the impasse in the postal dispute.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Dermot Ahern, today said it is up to both sides "to come together and to work with the Labour Relations Commission" to solve the dispute.
Speaking on RTÉ, Mr Ahern said he had no "ministerial magic wand", saying the dispute cannot go on forever. He has so far resisted from intervening in the dispute.
There was no movement on talks to resolve the situation over the weekend, despite efforts by the Labour Relations Commission.
The processing of post at the Dublin Mail Centre in Clondalkin has come to a standstill after some 500 staff were removed from the payroll for failing to carry out management instructions, according to An Post. Some 60 per cent of the State's mail is processed at the centre.
The CWU is considering the situation today at a meeting of its postal executive committee. In a separate meeting, the union's full executive council will receive a report from Mr Sean McDonagh, the national officer responsible for An Post.
It is believed the company is resisting efforts by the CWU to have the workers reinstated before talks begin.
A spokeswoman for An Post said there were "no talks" ongoing between the two sides at the moment and she expressed disappointment that last week's talks at the LRC had come to nothing.
She said what was needed at present was "a permanent and binding resolution" that all parties in the dispute would abide by. However, she could not be more specific about what such a resolution might involve.
The spokeswoman said the three other postal "hubs" in Cork, Athlone and Portlaoise, were still working normally. Some post was still "criss-crossing the country" but the amount had slowed to "a trickle" of what it should be. The spokeswoman said An Post was doing what it could for business customers and was trying to minimise the disruption to them.
While the CWU has not formally begun strike action, An Post is viewing the failure of staff members at the Dublin Mail Centre to carry out certain duties as strike action. It is understood that certain background contact is going on in an effort to solve the issue, but that no formal talks are taking place.