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Post/Zip codes and Ireland

Maskhadov

when are we getting zip/post codes ? I know the government signed a contract a while back. There are postcodes and zip codes, although mostly the same.

It should make deliveries with DHL and the like far quicker. I think the government may have to introduce road/street names to all the roads in ireland. House numbers of course will never work in this country with all the one off housing in the countryside we do.

some day we may be able to do the following

http://acg.media.mit.edu/people/fry/zipdecode/

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LordSutch

Maskhadov wrote:

Postcodes will do a lot to eat away the Vested intrests of the unions simply by allowing other companies to deliver mail that is quick and efficent.

What is your real problem with Post Codes Maskhadov? I lived in England for donkeys years and I must say the Royal Mail + Post codes are an efficient combination! (two posts a day + Saturday).

Regularly I would get post at work with just the bare minimum of an address printed on the envelope: Example (My Name, Middlesex, TW15 5JQ, England) as you can see from this example, the Post Code can be very handy especially for people who cant be arsed to fill the full address, and obviously if there are several streets all with similar names then a Post Code can also be of great benefit!

I think it would make a lot of sense to have a similar Post Code system to the UK or maybe even extend the UK system down here! How does that sound Maskhadov

Alun

bandraoi wrote:

The simplest way to do post codes in Ireland would be for everybody to simply work out their National Grid Reference and give that when asked for a post code.

That'd be either a 12-digit number or a sheet letter and a 10-digit number to get down to 1-metre resolution. Not exactly very easy to remember, I'd say. Also not sure it'd be that useful for sorting purposes which usually require a hierarchical system defining non-rectangular areas.

bandraoi

The simplest way to do post codes in Ireland would be for everybody to simply work out their National Grid Reference and give that when asked for a post code.

There'd be no need to set up a system cross referencing addresses or go to any expense.

Ambulances/Fire brigades/Police/Courier companies and everybody else would be able to find any house out the country or in the town with little difficulty.

corktina

Maskhadov wrote:

Im going into that Alun because its off thread. In short i think Anglo Saxons are odd, germans do things the right way but some important gene was lost when they travelled across the English channel :O

check out your history, my boy...the Angles and the Saxons and various others invaded Britain(from Northern Europe mostly) and supplanted the Britons, who i believe were Celts and were driven out (or assimilated ) (or plain killed...) to Cornwall, Wales Scotland and Ireland (where they in turn supplanted the natives....)
So please dont impose the language of the Minority on the Majority, cos historically you dont have a leg to stand on, and even in the Gaeltacht they arent too pleased with Dingles new name, are they.....

PS i'm an anglo-saxon and I definately am odd......

MrPudding

dts wrote:

May be it is a regional thing then? Westmeath must be particularly bad?

I am in South County Dublin in an estate. There should be no excuse.

I would love to know why a letter sent to my mum in the north from a post box takes 3 to 5 days but when I drop it in the mail bag a work before 1300Hrs it is there next day. This mail is not franked, I put a stamp on it myself. How does that work?

MrP

dts

May be it is a regional thing then? Westmeath must be particularly bad?

Slice

In my own experience everything I've ordered from the UK takes between 4-6 working days, all national post is delivered the following working day.

dts

It had to be special delivery?
I get stuff from eBay and shops in the UK delivered to Mullingar and if it’s less than two weeks then I am amazed.

Calina

dts wrote:

Things did used to get to us quicker when we lived in Lucan. I still find it hard to believe you would get anything the same week using an post!
Two days from the UK? This must be using some other carrier?
Maybe you get mail faster in Dublin because you have postcodes??????????

I don't live in a postcode area. And two days from the UK came Royal Mail/An Post. Not another carrier.

dts

Things did used to get to us quicker when we lived in Lucan. I still find it hard to believe you would get anything the same week using an post!
Two days from the UK? This must be using some other carrier?
Maybe you get mail faster in Dublin because you have postcodes??????????

Calina

MrPudding wrote:

Of course it does, why wouldn’t it? Does the world stop at the weekend? Do lorries and boats stop? Is there no one working in An Post at the weekend?

I believe they sort at the weekend, although they don't deliver.

MrPudding

Calina wrote:

Stuff sent from play.com has on average taken four days.

I really find that astonishing. I have never, ever received anything from Play less than a week after it was dispatched. I would say it is normally 10 days, including weekends.

MrP

Sarsfield

I have no great problems with An Post. Anything I've bought or sold via eBay has been delivered promptly (UK & Ireland). Althoygh I believe charges for small packets have been increased dramatically this month?

All my Christmas cards arrived promptly except for one which was sent from Northern Ireland, so I have to blame the Royal Mail for that.

I think this i just another case of assuming we're worse than everyone else at doing things. Which to be honest is rubbish. Although there are a lot of things we would do much better.

And I'm all in favour of a proper postcode system for a number of reasons already discussed.

MrPudding

Slice wrote:

So your book arrived late, but I think you're exagerrating when you say fifteen days.

You think I’m exaggerating? Oh well pardon me. I can assure you I am not. My copy arrived 15 days after my sisters.

Slice wrote:

Does the 15 days include weekend days?

Of course it does, why wouldn’t it? Does the world stop at the weekend? Do lorries and boats stop? Is there no one working in An Post at the weekend?

Slice wrote:

Also, do you realise that if you're ordering from Amazon.co.uk they would have sent it to be delivered on release date assuming that they were delivering to an address within the UK……

This is exactly my point. I did not expect my copy to arrive on the day of release. This was not my first internet purchase. I was simply using it as a point of comparison. Both copies were sent at the same time but mine took two week longer to arrive.

Slice wrote:

For example, I was going to join their DVD rental service and their site made all these promises about deliveries and it's only when you go to join does it have a small note to say it's only available in the UK, what's more I was still able to proceed with registering for the service using an Irish address regardless.

Not really relevant to this discussion. But in fairness you are on amazon.co.uk. and we are not part of the UK. If they offered the same service on the US or German site would you expect it to be any different?

MrP

Calina

dts wrote:

Looking at the examples given here it has to be An Post that is taking its time.
Anything I have ordered from out side of Ireland takes around about two weeks to arrive. I am sure its done on purpose becaus it has come from another country. Its all part of a bigger scam that is rip off Ireland.

Really? That's amazing. With the absolute exception of a CD that amazon highlighted as taking 4-6 weeks to deliver, everything I order from them gets delivered in four days. I also deal with a specialist needlework shop in the UK and so far, everything has taken just two days to get delivered. I order stuff from France it takes between three and five days. I send stuff to France it takes two to three days. Stuff sent from play.com has on average taken four days.

Most stuff I send from Dublin down the country is delivered in 24 hours.

I can live with that.

I am sure its done on purpose becaus it has come from another country. Its all part of a bigger scam that is rip off Ireland.

I'm missing the logic here.

dts

What’s wrong with it including weekends? An Post should do a Saturday service!

Slice

So your book arrived late, but I think you're exagerrating when you say fifteen days. Does the 15 days include weekend days? Also, do you realise that if you're ordering from Amazon.co.uk they would have sent it to be delivered on release date assuming that they were delivering to an address within the UK, this is even though their .ie site just redirects you to the .co.uk site it still doesn't seem to make distinctions between Irish and British, the fact that they ask for a postcode from Irish customers is a case in point. For example, I was going to join their DVD rental service and their site made all these promises about deliveries and it's only when you go to join does it have a small note to say it's only available in the UK, what's more I was still able to proceed with registering for the service using an Irish address regardless.

dts

Looking at the examples given here it has to be An Post that is taking its time.
Anything I have ordered from out side of Ireland takes around about two weeks to arrive. I am sure its done on purpose becaus it has come from another country. Its all part of a bigger scam that is rip off Ireland.

MrPudding

Slice wrote:

With international postal deliveries you have to remember that there are two postal services involved so it's not necessarily the fault of An Post that a letter should be delayed.

This is very true. But in the example of the cards my mother sent to Dublin, London and France it would be hard to blame Royal Mail or La Poste for the card to Dublin taking nine days when the one to London was there next day the one to France in three.

Slice wrote:

Because something from Amazon doesn't arrive until several days later is not necessarily a reflection on An Post.

Not several days. 15 days later in the case of the Harry Potter book. That is 2 weeks not several days.

Slice wrote:

Try ordering from an Irish site with goods dispatched from within Ireland and you'll find it'll get delivered on time.

I have had letters posted to me in Dublin that have taken several days to arrive.

If I post something to my mother in the north it will typically take 3 to 5 days to arrive if I put in in a letter box or drop it into the post office. Interestingly, if I drop it into the post bad in my company before 1300Hrs it will be there the next day.

MrP

Slice

With international postal deliveries you have to remember that there are two postal services involved so it's not necessarily the fault of An Post that a letter should be delayed. Additionally, I don't get your point Maskhadov of An Post being one of the worse in Europe, there's nothing to say that it is. An Post isn't far behind Royal Mail and if you were to compare the Irish postal service to say the American service we're getting a far better deal from what most American friends have told me.

Just last month, shortly before Christmas it was reported that Royal Mail had "found" a load of undelivered mail due for Ireland that had been delayed by about two weeks. It was found so shortly before Christmas that the newspaper report said it wasn't guarenteed the letters/parcels would be delivered on time for Christmas.

Because something from Amazon doesn't arrive until several days later is not necessarily a reflection on An Post. Try ordering from an Irish site with goods dispatched from within Ireland and you'll find it'll get delivered on time.

MrPudding

Maskhadov wrote:

Well I dont rate An Post, I was surprised that someone actually did !:eek:

Agreed. I have had a couple of interesting experiences. Last year my Mother in the North sent a Christmas card to my GF’s parents in France, one to my sister in London and one to me here in Dublin. They arrived in London the next day, France (in a small village in the arse end of nowhere) in three days and to me in Dublin in nine days! Great service.

The new Harry Potter book last June / July. I bought 2 copies of Amazon. One for my sister in London and one for myself. Both sent to arrive on release day. My sister’s arrived on release day and mine 15 days after release.

This year I bought a book of musicroom.co.uk for my daughter. It was dispatched from Belgium on the 13th of December and arrived January 4th.

You might be able to apportion some blame to the other companies involved but I think in these cases the problem seems to be with An Post.

MrP

MrPudding

Calina wrote:

In other words, you're suggesting that the function of the postcode is as a street identifier.

The clue is in the name. "Post" code. A code designed to make delivering "post" easier.

MrP

Alun

Calina wrote:

In other words, you're suggesting that the function of the postcode is as a street identifier.

TBH, I have to say that what you're describing sounds totally unworkable as a navigation aid unless you have a sat nav or an internet connx or a suitable piece of software. But I might be wrong and I don't intend to fight over it.

I'm not picking a fight

But yes, the function of a postcode, within the context of sorting and delivering mail, is that of unambiguously identifying a street, or better still, an individual house. What on earth else would it be?? That's what they're designed to do.

And as I said, they're very handy when trying to locate addresses using the multitude of mapping services on the internet (hardly a rarity or luxury these days!) or on satnav systems (ditto, except perhaps in Ireland). If you don't have a satnav system, you can just use one of the (free) mapping services on the internet and print a map off to take with you. That's not to say that it's impossible to do it without using them, it's just a whole lot quicker, easier and less error prone.

They're also very handy for people engaged in demographic research, those who have the unenviable job of disambiguating address databases, and (unfortunately) mass mailing companies. Then there's the emergency services that use them to quickly locate callers, and opening up delivery services to companies who might not possess the degree of local knowledge that the local An Post postie might have.

Calina

Alun wrote:

Not necessarily. If I want to locate an address in the UK (or Holland) there are any number of websites (steetmap.co.uk, maporama.com, etc.) I can go to and type in the postcode + house number and get a map of the area I'm going to. And I did mean postcode plus house number ... the street name is superfluous in this case. As an example, my postcode in Holland was 5508HD, which was the code for my half of the street (the odd numbers). The other side of the street was 5508HE. Add my house number to that, i.e. 9, and that was all anyone needed to unambiguously identify my house.

In other words, you're suggesting that the function of the postcode is as a street identifier.

TBH, I have to say that what you're describing sounds totally unworkable as a navigation aid unless you have a sat nav or an internet connx or a suitable piece of software. But I might be wrong and I don't intend to fight over it.

Alun

Calina wrote:

1) I find the combination of letters and numbers difficult to remember, particularly as they don't always have immediately obvious connections to their local geography.

Can't say I've ever found that a problem myself. There are the occasional strange instances where a small village just within the border of one county will have a postcode of the large town in the adjacent county. Not usually a problem, and the only people who object are usually onl ydoing so out of snobbery.

2) their exactness is only useful if you do have that sat nav system - I assume you mean house number + plus street name - if you reckon the street name is not necessary, I'd have to say I prefer map plus street name/house number than postcode and house number. Personally not a fan of sat nav systems anyway, but that's a personal preference.

Not necessarily. If I want to locate an address in the UK (or Holland) there are any number of websites (steetmap.co.uk, maporama.com, etc.) I can go to and type in the postcode + house number and get a map of the area I'm going to. And I did mean postcode plus house number ... the street name is superfluous in this case. As an example, my postcode in Holland was 5508HD, which was the code for my half of the street (the odd numbers). The other side of the street was 5508HE. Add my house number to that, i.e. 9, and that was all anyone needed to unambiguously identify my house.

Maskhadov

Calina wrote:

No, as it happens, I do not.

And frankly, "oh you must work for the company" is hardly constructive debate. It doesn't change the fact that you haven't given any evidence to suggest that implementing postcodes will undo the damage of union protected workers.

Well I dont rate An Post, I was surprised that someone actually did !:eek:

Postcodes will do a lot to eat away the Vested intrests of the unions simply by allowing other companies to deliver mail that is quick and efficent. An Post have a monolopy on mail delivery and it has dragged on for too long.

The dutch are already introducing competition onto the service (TNT I think is the new service) but we have to wait until 2009 I belive.

Calina

Alun wrote:

What's to like or dislike about it? With the UK system, and also the Dutch one (which is the only other that I'm intimately familar with) you can pin down an address exactly with the postcode plus the house number. Very handy for quick location of addreses with car satnav systems, for example. A quick Google on the French system gives me the impression that it's a lot 'coarser' than these two, a bit like the German Postleitzahl or PLZ is that correct? And if so, why is that superior?

1) I find the combination of letters and numbers difficult to remember, particularly as they don't always have immediately obvious connections to their local geography.

2) their exactness is only useful if you do have that sat nav system - I assume you mean house number + plus street name - if you reckon the street name is not necessary, I'd have to say I prefer map plus street name/house number than postcode and house number. Personally not a fan of sat nav systems anyway, but that's a personal preference.

Calina

Maskhadov wrote:

Do you work for An post or something ? Its a crap expenive inefficent service.

No, as it happens, I do not.

And frankly, "oh you must work for the company" is hardly constructive debate. It doesn't change the fact that you haven't given any evidence to suggest that implementing postcodes will undo the damage of union protected workers.

Maskhadov

Calina wrote:

But I don't agree with you that An Post are the biggest joke. I actually find their service okay. And I order from both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.fr and would have to say stuff from amazon.fr tends to get here faster. I've never had any damage from them in terms of stuff sent to me.

The Italian postal service is held to be one of the worst in Europe, and I have Greek friends who systematically post everything by registered post so that it takes less than a month to travel to its destination. 16million items "go missing" in the Royal Mail every year.

In any case, I have to say that you have provided no evidence that postcodes would improve anything if, in fact, unions are the root of the problem.

Do you work for An post or something ? Its a crap expenive inefficent service.

Alun

Calina wrote:

I don't particularly like the UK postcode system and if I had to choose one which I did, it'd be the French one.

What's to like or dislike about it? With the UK system, and also the Dutch one (which is the only other that I'm intimately familar with) you can pin down an address exactly with the postcode plus the house number. Very handy for quick location of addreses with car satnav systems, for example. A quick Google on the French system gives me the impression that it's a lot 'coarser' than these two, a bit like the German Postleitzahl or PLZ is that correct? And if so, why is that superior?