Tipperary TD Noel Coonan said the roll-out of the National Postcodes System (Eircode) will bring significant benefits to consumers, businesses and rural communities while improving the delivery of public services, including emergency services.
“Every address in Ireland will be allocated a unique and memorable 7-digit postcode in mid-2015. The Department believes most residents and businesses will take up the benefits of using their postcode although, as in other countries, it will not be compulsory to do so,” explained Deputy Coonan.
“The new system facilitates the accurate location of all addresses in the State, including the 35% of Irish addresses that are ‘non-unique,’ making it easier for consumers to shop online, and assist the development of Irish online commerce. The National postcode system promotes better delivery of public services, allowing delivery companies to accurately identify addresses and sequence deliveries and making it quicker and easier for emergency services to locate addresses, particularly in rural areas.
“The Departmental representatives explained that 35% of addresses in Ireland are non-unique and that the Eircodes system had been developed to take account of this unique challenge. Non-unique addresses are particularly common in rural areas, including Tipperary, where multiple householders in particular localities often also have the same surname. Together, this makes it difficult to deliver to the correct address. The Eircodes system will assign a unique identifier to each address, making it easier to locate the correct addresses,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources said it has consulted widely with stakeholders, including An Post and commercial delivery companies, to ensure that the national postcode system would effectively meet consumer and business needs. It has also engaged with the Data Protection Commissioner in relation to the data protection aspects of the project.