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

My Eircode will pinpoint the exact house on the Eircode map ( Google maps shows two marks) . But the address returned bears no relationship to the correct road , which is marked by a Co.Council road sign. I am not too sure what would happen if the address returned by Eircode was used on a letter or package

It never made sense to use a proprietary geocode imo. We could have developed our own one for free, or more recently used something free like google's plus codes. Though really the motivation for having geocodes for arbitrary locations has diminished a lot. I remember several years ago, if you broke down on a motorway, the AA wanted to know what exit you had passed last, and they weren't able to take an exact lat/long location. Nowadays, they just use their own mobile app, and they have no need for a "code" as such at all.

My opinion of Eircode hasn't really changed since the "discussions" here with people involved in the project a number of years ago. It works well for the basic functions of delivery or navigating to an address. Though the experience of the letter writer in the Times would make you question how well An Post are using it. They are competing heavily in the parcel delivery market now and generally speaking you don't get to choose which courier delivers packages to your home. It also works well enough for government and large commercial organisations who need to identify addresses systematically and do whatever data processing they want to do with them. I imagine a lot of that work is being done by the companies that were involved in designing the system. I still believe it was a missed opportunity to develop an open location/post code that could have been used for all kinds of purposes like statistics which would have been useful for the general public and other interested parties.

Apart from licensing and paying for it, there are some things you can do with it for free, by using Google's free tier to their maps products along with open data provided by other state agencies. But, that's no thanks to Eircode, and it's only free up to a point, when you do have to pay for it.

"It also works well enough for government and large commercial organisations who need to identify addresses systematically and do whatever data processing they want to do with them."

This is/ was the real driver behind Eircode - the state now has a systematic method to identify rateable property.

Christ, I've heard it all now. I wish the loc8 cheerleaders would stop clutching at straws.

I can be half way up Galtee Mor (as I should have been today until the weather changed that). I can click on google maps and send anyone or give anyone my PRECISE location down to a meter.

I've done it a few times for meet up points when hiking. Its stupidly easy. I don't need loc8 to do that

Yep I apologise for being a bit obnoxious in my reply, I should have made it clear that what I really meant is eircode cannot be relied upon when using google maps. It’s just not exact or accurate enough and can often have a pin drop that is not clearly on one property, not eircodes fault but the majority of couriers use google maps

Lucky you. I'm 40 years living rurally and couriers could never find us. Since Eircodes we have had no issues at all. Directions in rural areas can be difficult if there are side roads confused with laneways or vice versa. We've gone from several undelivered items a year to couriers just arriving without needing to contact us at all.

Comical. I tried Loc8 and any courier or visitor I went to give it to didn't know what I was talking about. Let them rant. A nerve has obviously been touched. A childish rant because they lost out to Eircode.

Thanks for that. I'm not on Twitter so wouldn't have seen it.

Comes across like his teenage kid has the keyboard

Let Loc8 rant all they like. They're upset that the emergency services automatically ask for your Eircode and don't even mention them. The fact remains that people know what an Eircode is and have never heard of loc8

It's without a doubt what has them p!ssed off.

Where I live has sequential postcodes and I don't get any junk mail at all. Maybe once a month I get a hand delivered flyer for charity collection?