A NATIONAL postal code system will be introduced from 2011, Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan has announced.
Mr Ryan said the system would bring faster and more accurate postal delivery and the initial set-up cost, which he estimated at €10-€15 million, would be justified by the returns across the economy.
“A postal code system represents an excellent investment for any modern country and is essential for the development of the digital economy,” Mr Ryan said.
“I look forward to working on its swift implementation over the next 15 months.” The Minister said Ireland was the only country in Europe that did not have a postal code system, which would save money for the State as a major postal customer.
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will issue an invitation to tender for the implementation of the new system shortly.
The precise design of the new codes will not be finalised until the tender process is complete. However, the department said an “alpha-numeric” postal system would be used to identify clusters of houses. This would read, for example, as D02 123 or ATH 123.
A report from PA Consulting put the monetary benefits of postcodes to the State at €22 million “in the medium term”, according to the department.
Fine Gael’s communications spokesman Simon Coveney said the Government should press ahead with the implementation of a postal code system which would be good for competition in the sector. “It’s part of any modern economy that supports having competition in the post system. We’re committed to deregulation in the post system. We need post codes so new entrants into the market can work with Irish addresses in a way that’s efficient,” he said. However, Mr Coveney said the Minister should look at the funding mechanism and consider a system under which immediate payments could be deferred in the light of the current economic downturn.
He also said he wanted to know why the Minister had not opted for a “GPS-based system” which he said would be familiar to people who used satellite navigation devices in their cars.
Mr Coveney said he did not agree with his Labour counterpart on the issue.
Earlier, the Labour Party’s communications spokeswoman Liz McManus had questioned the timing of the announcement given the economic climate.
“In principle, I support the introduction of postcodes. But I am concerned at a time of severe cutbacks in public spending that it is hard to justify on the grounds of cost,” she said.
“Estimates have ranged from the Minister’s figure of €15 million to industry experts quoting a figure of €25 million.”
Ms McManus also said there was concern that the introduction of postcodes would result in more sophisticated targeting of junk mail to particular income groups.
A spokeswoman for An Post said the company was not against postal codes but noted it already had a “very complex code” in its national sorting directory.
This database was also used by commercial interests and local authorities.
“Our system suits our processing and delivery. . . this [the new system] is an alternative, a different kind of postal system.” An Post had been involved in the work of the expert group on the issue for three years.
Chief ambulance officer in the National Ambulance Service, Pat McCreanor, said the system would help eliminate confusion in finding placenames in emergencies.
The Irish Auctioneers Valuers Institute questioned spending €10-€15 million “on something that isn’t a matter of great urgency”.
New code: address samples
THE POSTCODES, which will become the last line of the address printed or written on envelopes for delivery, will have six characters.
While the exact allocation and design of the new system will not be finalised until the tender process is complete, it is envisaged that an “alpha-numeric postal system” (ie ABC 123) will be used to identify clusters of houses.
Sample postcodes attached to addresses provided by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources include one for a location in the area currently known as Dublin 2:
- Ms A Murphy
Apt 7,
Blue Building,
Pearse Street D02 123
Another example provided by the department, this time for an address in Co Westmeath, is:
- Mr D Collins,
Main Street,
Athlone,
ATH 123
Other towns could be represented in a similar way, with YGL for Youghal, Co Cork, NVN for Navan, Co Meath and SWO for Swords, Co Dublin, for example.
The existing Dublin postal districts are expected to be accommodated within the new postcodes, for example Dublin 4 becomes D04, while Dublin 12 is represented as D12.
The final three digits in the code will relate to houses, clusters of houses, roads and townlands, depending on the area. MARY MINIHAN