Is it true that An Post doesn't use Eircodes?

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118656533#Comment_118656533

I'm extremely upset by it too. €16 per address.

Most of which were imported from existing databases. AFAIK the areas were done by existing postal town so zero brain power used there as the map I posted shows. The other 4 digits are random. Doesn't take much brain power to generate a list of a few million random alphanumerics.

And then get the general public to submit corrections.

If you even mention the word Eircode on Twitter that account just starts responding, even if you’re not following them.

I don’t know anything about the background to this, but it certainly isn’t a very good way of promoting a brand.

I do think Eircode should be an open resource though. It’s effectively a piece of national infrastructure. No reason why OSI couldn’t have developed a system. Geocode already existed. It just wasn’t very suitable for postal addressing as the codes are too long.

There are annoying issues too like being unable to request an Eircode for a new house which often delays hook up of telecoms utilities like fibre because those networks won’t accept anything other than Eircode and it seems to appear on their database by osmosis.

Gregor Samsa

I heard that if you say your Eircode backwards into a mirror, you'll win the Lotto.

But if you do the same with your Loc8 code, Satan will claim your soul and set fire to your underwear. Well, he would if he could find you. But even he doesn’t use Loc8 codes.

It would have been nice if Eircode had used something vaguely familiar outside coded parts of Dublin though too.

Some of the 3 digit prefixes cover tiny areas and others absolutely huge areas. It doesn’t seem to follow much logic.

Like they could have used the registration plate county letters, or they could have used the lead digits of landline area codes or something. Beyond the DXX codes the rest just seem to lack any logic.

I mean it works, but it could have been a whole lot more useful if it weren’t just a random number. Effectively Eircode isn’t much more useful than a phone number looking up a database. The code tells you nothing more than a phone area code would in and of itself as the local bit is just random.

From what I gather the whole issue around keeping it random was to avoid postcode / house price snobbery or something ludicrous and to make adding codes uncomplicated.

I agree though that the need for codes isn’t that large anymore due to advances in smartphone technology. The only places it would be useful is in car sat nav. Many of those infotainment systems are very poorly designed though. I often just use Google maps instead.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118659042#Comment_118659042

Conradh na Gaeilge had an objection to using the county letters if I recall. So it was decided to use something neutral.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118653582#Comment_118653582

Try writing the Eircode on your door or gate. As someone who grew up in the city I think that the whole lack of a full address thing in the Irish countryside to be an absolute joke in the 21st century. Put a fekn name or something on the house.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118659042#Comment_118659042

Given how Dublin turned out I can see why they were concerned about creating more D4s or odd number stigmas. Also you get the stupid parochial bllxs of some fella from Clare screaming blue murder cause Shannon Banks has an L Eircode instead of CE

Cork City’s very much north / south divided. T12 being the Southside. T23 being the Northside and the various outer suburbs/commuter towns are all in their own codes.

Furze99

An Post announced it was increasing the price of an ordinary letter stamp a few weeks back. CEO McRedmond was quizzed on it and stated that it was just an increase on the 'ordinary stamp' and that all other letter & packet rates would stay the same.

This increase came in a couple of days ago - and what do you know, rates have gone up across the board. Furthermore where there used to be four simple zones, there are now five with Europe/ EU confusingly split.

McRedmond gave false information to the public. He should resign or be kicked out.

Schorpio

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-41016890.html%20

Apologies, this isn't strictly on topic, but as Loc8 has been widely discussed in this thread, I thought some in here would be interested to see that Loc8 have brought action in the High Court against An Post, Capita and the Department of Environment over the award of the national postcode system to eircode.

(Mods - please feel free to split into new thread if required.)

ELM327

Hardly surprising given the teenage rantings of its manchild owner.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944403#Comment_119944403

Hopefully he’ll STFU when he finally loses his case,

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119943672#Comment_119943672

I had correspondence with the owner a few years back and let's say he was not easy to warm to. Loc8 sounded good but I couldn't find one courier who used it. They all use Eircode.

Gregor Samsa

Lads, if you're lucky, you might get a mention from him on Twitter 🤣

https://twitter.com/loc8code/status/1494239662122147842

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119944969#Comment_119944969

I cant even view the tweet.

DownByTheGarden

Somebody is using eircodes anyway. I got a letter a few weeks ago with the complete wrong name and address address on it, but the eircode is is my eircode. I marked it as address incorrect and threw it back in the post box. It arrived in the door again a few days later.

Schorpio

An Post not officially using our national postcode system is a shambles.....but it's also sort of irrelevant to Loc8. I would imagine if Loc8 was our national postcode system, An Post wouldn't be using that either.

Eircode fulfills its brief, and it's one character shorter than Loc8. As someone who lives in a house with no distinguishing name or number, it has been a game-changer,

If it's precise location seeking everywhere (including rural locations) is what you're after, I find what3words is easier to remember and communicate.

Loc8 is a sort of middle ground.

looksee

I tried to find an address by Eircode recently and it sent me to a completely wrong house on a fairly new estate. I am asked to give my Eircode by tradesmen and they generally find me just by Eircode. Google maps routefinder tends to send people next door - I am in the countryside, have a house immediately beside me but no others particularly close. I now have a small printed sign with the eircode on, on the gate. Its all a great improvement on lengthy descriptions that rely on the accuracy of the person giving the instructions.

kirving

I'd love to know how much Google Maps actually pay to use Eircode, vs say a small company who want access to the database. I'd suspect it's Zero, as Eircode would be dead in the water without Google.

FishOnABike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119945641#Comment_119945641

It would depend on if Google had to buy an annual licence to use the ECAF and/or ECAD from Eircode or whether they could crowd source the information from their users.

Capt'n Midnight

For all it's faults Eircode mostly tags buildings.

Loc8 was just a proprietary way to obfuscate freely available map references.

Here's one that's free to use , source code provided too https://www.fourkingmaps.co.uk/ maps every 3 meter square in UK + Ireland to rude words. NSFW

What 3 words has a lot of similar sounding words close together so beware of tech solutions that haven't been implemented properly

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119945671#Comment_119945671

Crowdsourcing works well for the likes of traffic estimation and journey times, and a whole host of other things, but beyond having users actually type in their specific Eircode, it would be difficult to have the accuracy, due to the random code vs a more nested system.

Whoever was running the integration of Eircode to Google Maps had an unbelievably strong hand when it came to negotiating the license cost, because of their effective monopoly on the navigation /end user side of things.

plodder

I don't think Google gets the full ECAD or ECAF. All they actually use is the eircode and geo-coordinates afaik, as google has its own addressing database, which is clearly different from the Eircode one. I think this makes some sense as it means Eircode can use a separate license with special terms and presumably a low cost. They seem to get updates too, as I was checking an eircode recently for a new house on google maps, and it was there.

The loc8 guy certainly posted here at one time. I remember having a protracted discussion about location codes with him before Eircode was designed. I hope he hasn't bet his house on this case.

Alun

It was a now deleted user called garydubh IIRC.

ULEZ23

Looks like our Gary finally got his knock out blow in the courts this week.

i think the judge nicely summed up Gary’s aggressive contributions to boards over the years with this statement.

“Mr Justice Barrett said Mr Gary Delaney made an “abundance” of allegations of wrongdoing, some of which the judge described as “sensational”.”

https://m.independent.ie/business/irish/eircode-contract-case-is-dismissed-by-court/a1850270224.html