Postcodes for everyone in Ireland by 2008

Cabaal · 23-05-2005 10:14AM #1

So listening to the radio this morning and it seems the Communication Minister wants to introduce postcodes in Ireland in 2008, even though An Post say its not needed. (wtf?)

While I can understand that breaking Dublin, Cork and Galway etc into smaller blocks by using postcodes could be usefull am I the only one who thinks its needless for most of the rest of the country?

Maybe its just the fact I like Ireland not having postcodes, it makes us different

fjon · 23-05-2005 10:21AM

Just think how easy it will be to fill out online forms!
An Post may say they don't need it, but there are other companies out there that are doing similar jobs to An Post (Couriers for example) who would really benefit from this.
The address:

Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary

Might be ok for An Post who use local postmen, but would be much more difficult for a courier to find. Or even an ambulance for that matter.
I say bring them on - long overdue.

aldous_huxley · 23-05-2005 10:22AM

Nice to see us join the rest of the developed world on this. I think it is necessary - moreso for urban areas now - but from a futureproofing point of view.
An Post don't want to do it cos they dont want the hassle of setting it up - or the cost.

sprinkles · 23-05-2005 10:25AM

I can see it now,

So where are you from?

BT342ER

Oh! Do You know Johnny? He lives near there

fjon · 23-05-2005 10:30AM

Yeah, let's hope they don't adopt the stupid British postcode system. It would be a lot easier to have for example, postcodes like 1001 and 1002 for Dublin city centre.

Tobias Greeshman · 23-05-2005 10:35AM

I can certainly agree with the arguement for the larger cities being separated with Post Codes, but for the rest of the country, surely all this is likely to do is to confuse everyone. Surely if An Post say its not needed, maybe they're just right, since there the ones who'll be using them.

BuffyBot · 23-05-2005 10:52AM

While I can understand that breaking Dublin, Cork and Galway etc into smaller blocks by using postcodes could be usefull am I the only one who thinks its needless for most of the rest of the country?

Yeah, because doing it for some places and not for others makes a lot of sense. If it's going to be done, do the whole country and get it done with.

egan007 · 23-05-2005 10:58AM

Dempsey is a dick - he looks for something that is not broken and attempts to fix it - just to be seen to be justifying his job.

Blisterman · 23-05-2005 10:59AM

Dublin's already split up into d2, d13 etc. Why do we need this? Are they just gonna do that with the other counties?

RobertFoster · 23-05-2005 11:01AM

There's certainly some confusion when ordering online - "What do you mean you've no house number or street name or postcode!?"

Canis Lupus · 23-05-2005 11:09AM

fjon wrote:

Just think how easy it will be to fill out online forms!
An Post may say they don't need it, but there are other companies out there that are doing similar jobs to An Post (Couriers for example) who would really benefit from this.
The address:

Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary

Might be ok for An Post who use local postmen, but would be much more difficult for a courier to find. Or even an ambulance for that matter.
I say bring them on - long overdue.

True but:
Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary
TP326AB

Still won't explain to a courier that your house is the white one with the big windows and you have to turn left after the bridge and right past the stone gate.

Post codes are only workable for a city street with house numbers. Not the country

Stix · 23-05-2005 11:10AM

The reason An Post do not advocate the introduction of postcodes nationwide is due to their monopoly. All the major players (such as DHL, UPS, FedEx) have computer logistic systems based on postcodes. Without postcodes it is impracticle for them to operate. Their computers recognise alphanumeric entries. Of course the systems would recognise placenames too but in many rural communities, addresses become colloquial. So a place between Ballygobackwards and Killabog might be known as Lynch's Meadow loacally, but the sophisti-ma-cated do-whacky can't account for this, or other local knowledge. An Post, thru all it's years of widsom, have come to know these areas, where as the competition would find it difficult to operate. Do we intorduce the postcodes and subsequently competition into the market, or do we allow An Post to continue to hold it's monopoly ?

the_syco · 23-05-2005 11:16AM

After lots of sacking, and the first year of not making a loss in a bit, along comes some smeg with an idea to waste that money.

=-=

Oh, and it'll be that some will have 5000 people per post code, some will have 2 + a pig.

Clinical Waste · 23-05-2005 11:22AM

Canis Lupus wrote:

True but:
Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary
TP326AB

Still won't explain to a courier that your house is the white one with the big windows and you have to turn left after the bridge and right past the stone gate.
Post codes are only workable for a city street with house numbers. Not the country

Maybe country people could start using street signs and house numbers?

Canis Lupus · 23-05-2005 11:25AM

Clinical Waste wrote:

Maybe country people could start using street signs and house numbers?

If your making a joke then

If you're not making a joke then your idea is most definitely not a workable one.

Blisterman · 23-05-2005 12:06PM

You mean, houses in the country don't have numbers? Thats ridiculous. How do you find people's houses, from addresses.

Stix · 23-05-2005 12:10PM

Postcodes usually only cover up to 12 houses maximum. So even with houses that arent on a street or have numbers, (ie those in fields past stone gates) they will be easily located. In fact a post code in a rural area may only refer to one or two houses. This couple with the householders name will make it highly workable.

Canis Lupus wrote:

True but:
Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary
TP326AB

Still won't explain to a courier that your house is the white one with the big windows and you have to turn left after the bridge and right past the stone gate.

Post codes are only workable for a city street with house numbers. Not the country

Gurgle · 23-05-2005 12:12PM

They've been banging on about this for years, as if it was the most complicated thing ever to figure out.

wtf is wrong with something nice and simple, using area codes / car reg or something.

segadreamcast · 23-05-2005 12:17PM

It's funny. I believe it was on Saturday afternoon that I read an article about how little mail is sent in Ireland per head. This was, apparently, due to our lack of junkmail which was - in turn - due to our lack of postcodes, thus making it more difficult for 'direct mail' firms to target consumers.

I predicted on that day that a proposal would be put forward to introduce postcodes by the end of 2005 and - much earlier than I expected, I admit - here we are.

Having said that, ignoring the direct mail reason cited above, I do think it makes sense to divide the country into postcodes as in Dublin, despite D5 etc - these areas are generally rather large and often somewhat illogical in a sense, thus, proper postcodes might make more sense.

I presume we would then dispose of D11, D9, D12 etc?

billy the squid · 23-05-2005 12:25PM

Wonder how long it will take the poshies to moan about being put in the wrong postcode, or being put in the same postcode as a corpo estate.

segadreamcast · 23-05-2005 12:26PM

billy the squid wrote:

Wonder how long it will take the poshies to moan about being put in the wrong postcode, or being put in the same postcode as a corpo estate.

Bingo. There's your main problem. It's inevitable that the house which I live in will be lumped in with Ballymun or Finglas but...*shrug*... it's not as if I'll be selling the house, so it's hardly a problem for me - however, I can see many not being overtly thrilled about the prospect.

Chalk · 23-05-2005 12:30PM

itll just be crap anyway and you all know it.

for example -
wexford town would be WX01 or whatever and anything outside would WX02.

theyll do that for the whole country to separate towns from the countryside.
makes no difference to anyone, except we have postcodes that conform to the international standard

Blisterman · 23-05-2005 12:40PM

The english ones are a bit stupid. They're really hard to remember.

billy the squid · 23-05-2005 12:48PM

Ballymun 90210

Dublin 26 er, I mean Dublin 6W will have to go. wasn't it the yuppies wanted a low post code as higher ones were below their status.

yossarin · 23-05-2005 12:50PM

i call #0001

fjon · 23-05-2005 12:51PM

billy the squid wrote:

Wonder how long it will take the poshies to moan about being put in the wrong postcode, or being put in the same postcode as a corpo estate.

Bye bye D4

Although currently this is also the case - Irishtown and Ringsend share the D4 postcode with Donnybrook, Sandymount and Ballsbridge. Killiney is right next to Ballybrack...

billy the squid · 23-05-2005 12:52PM

might also have to do with helping all those decentralised civil servants feel more at home out in the sticks. having an office in an area with a postcode.

Although currently this is also the case - Irishtown and Ringsend share the D4 postcode with Donnybrook, Sandymount and Ballsbridge. Killiney is right next to Ballybrack...

but I don't think Ballybrack is in D4 far as I know ballybrack doesnt have a post code. its just Ballybrack County Dublin.

Alun · 23-05-2005 01:16PM

Canis Lupus wrote:

True but:
Seamus O'Mahoney
Pine Cottage
Co. Tipperary
TP326AB

Still won't explain to a courier that your house is the white one with the big windows and you have to turn left after the bridge and right past the stone gate.

Post codes are only workable for a city street with house numbers. Not the country

But given a properly indexed GPS satnav system he'll be able to type in TP326AB and get to within shouting distance of the place without having to ring anybody up at all.

Plus may I point out that they have post codes in the US which, as I recall, contains quite a lot of "country".

rugbug86 · 23-05-2005 01:19PM

Alun wrote:

But given a properly indexed GPS satnav system he'll be able to type in TP326AB and get to within shouting distance of the place without having to ring anybody up at all.

Plus may I point out that they have post codes in the US which, as I recall, contains quite a lot of "country".

we had satnav in a hirecar in america and it was brilliant. think the postcode thing would be an asset to us. pizza will arrive quicker

fjon · 23-05-2005 01:24PM

A post-code system based on GPS co-ordinates idefinitely the way to go. Very little maintenance involved after the initially mapping. Once a new village/ town springs up it can be slotted into an existing co-ordinate grid. The grids can be as big or small as needed.
But of course seeing as An Post are going to have a big part in the implementation they will probably use a postman's walking route as the basis for the postcodes.
Some more info HERE. The Word doc has some interesting things in it.

Canis Lupus · 23-05-2005 01:28PM

Stix wrote:

Postcodes usually only cover up to 12 houses maximum. So even with houses that arent on a street or have numbers, (ie those in fields past stone gates) they will be easily located. In fact a post code in a rural area may only refer to one or two houses. This couple with the householders name will make it highly workable.

Do you live in the country? Taking where I live I cannot see in a million years how a postcode system would make it easier to locate a house.

To answer Blistermans question if you need to find a house you call em and ask them for specific directions

Or you ask someone everyone knows everyone in the country

Postcodes for everyone in Ireland by 2008

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