Former head of Coillte and Glen Dimplex, Fergal Leamy, is to become the next chief executive of An Post. The company is expected to announce on Thursday that Leamy will succeed David McRedmond in the role. McRedmond is expected to leave the State-owned postal company at the end of the month. Finding a replacement for the former TV3 boss has strained relations between the company and its parent department, as well as Minister for Communications Patrick O’Donovan. The board of the company had proposed a salary rate of about €360,000 per year for the next chief executive, put forward under a new pay determination system by which boards in commercial State companies opt for a point on a pay band provided by the Government.[ New An Post CEO’s salary should reflect ‘risks on the horizon’, O’Donovan suggestsOpens in new window ]This in turn has to be approved by line Ministers, as well as the Department of Public Expenditure. However, O’Donovan did not accept the proposal and instead opted for a lower rate of about €270,000. McRedmond’s basic pay rate is set at about €250,000 annually. The terms and conditions for the new chief executive have not yet been confirmed.There were also concerns in An Post about delays in signing off on a request to increase its borrowing ceiling to allow it to invest in various projects. It also wants to create a centralised sorting office facility which it believes is key for its future development. [ The Irish Times Business Person of the Month: Fergal LeamyOpens in new window ]The board wrote earlier this month to the Minister saying it was being undermined by the delay, outlining that its business was coming under increased pressure and that this left the board’s fiduciary duties and financial responsibilities in question. During his tenure, McRedmond chaired a taskforce to investigate future possible uses of the GPO complex on O’Connell Street, Dublin. The group’s report outlined that unused sections would be available as community-event spaces on an interim basis while a masterplan to redevelop the site is in development.While the overall plan will be consulted on, it is anticipated that priority will be given to the site’s future use as a public post office, a cultural centre and office accommodation for the Government, alongside improvements to the public realm.A public consultation, or “national conversation”, on the future of the site is also planned, but under the proposal for Cabinet, while these long-term plans are being developed, a “meanwhile use” for the GPO is envisaged, including community-event spaces in unused parts of the complex.The original GPO was opened in 1818 but was occupied and then destroyed during the 1916 Easter Rising, before being restored and fully reopened in 1929. While it was home to State-owned An Post until mid-2023, much of that company’s workforce has now moved to a modern office building in the north docks.