National Postcodes to be introduced

The Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, has announced that the Government is to introduce of a national postal code system from 2011.
Speaking this morning, Mr Ryan said such a system was necessary for the State's economic development and would save money for the State as a major postal customer.
"We can't afford not to do it, we need to move to a new digital economy. Postcodes are part of that, they actually make for a more efficient postal system . . . they also give you a location for a whole range of services which makes it easier to find where you want to go to in Ireland, and to get things done effectively and quickly.
"There are small upfront costs, but the returns across the economy are, in my mind, massive."
Noting Ireland was the only country in Europe that did not have a postal code, the Minister conceded there was a "slight nostalgia thing" over this, but he added: "The reality is it's not efficient, it doesn't work well. It's far more effective for us to have a specific address for each house, for each area, which is a mix of numbers of letters, and that allows post get there much more quickly, much more effectively.
Pointing out a new system could operate as a locational code system," Mr Ryan said: "For example, if you're going to fix a lamppost, you can actually put a location code based on the same postal code system, so you know exactly where it is."
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources said a report from PA Consulting put the monetary benefits of postcodes to the State at €22 million in the medium term but that most of the benefits of such a type of system "cannot be accurately gauged in monetary terms".
The Department said data gathered would allow the Government to match demographic trends to its policymaking and would assist emergency services in reaching locations.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland , Mr Ryan said there was an estimated initial set-up cost of €10 million to €15 million required to allocate a code to every house and area and to feed this data into a computer system. This would take a year, but the system would bring an "immediate return" in terms of more efficient and effective service, Mr Ryan said.
"I think, actually, for a lot of rural Ireland, this is a real opportunity that you can start buying things through the Internet, get them to your house in a much more efficient way, and I think it is part of our modern infrastructure and we need it now."
The Minister said the Revenue Commissioners estimated it could save €2 million or €3 million a year over four or five years.
The Irish Exporters' Association (IEA) today welcomed the Minister's announcement.
The organisation's chief executive, John Whelan, called for the latest technology to be utilised in the new system. "There is opportunity for Ireland in coming late to the modern post code system to jump ahead of other countries who have for many years being using the post code system."
“The current postal system is inefficient and is believed to be adding 20 per cent to 30 per cent to the sorting/routing costs in An Post. Hence, it should be possible to introduce the system in a cost neutral way, offsetting capital cost with current operating savings.”
Mr Whelan added that the new system would give An Post a new range of marketing tools to consumers and industry. "There are a lot of corporations internationally who would be very anxious to piggyback on the back of the new system once it's in," he said.
The Department said it was envisaged that an alphanumeric postal system (ABC 123) would be used to identify clusters of houses. This would read, for example, as Ms. A Murphy Mr. B Collins Apt 7 Blue Building Main Street Pearse Street Athlone D02 123 ATH 123
However, the precise design of the new codes will not be finalised until the tender process is complete.
In 2005, former Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey announced Ireland was to introduce postcodes by January 1st 2008.
However, at the time, An Post has said the plan could be "controversial". It told a working group set up to examine the future of the company that a postcode system was not needed because it already had its own technical postcode, which combines the GeoDirectory national database with automated optical character-recognition sorting equipment.
An Post also said postcodes could be resisted by people who were attached to existing addresses, or who were concerned the new system would influence prestige, house prices and insurance costs.

NEXT Christmas will be the last one when greeting cards will be sent to old addresses before the conversion to nationwide post codes.

The new post-codes system will be in place right across the country by Christmas 2011, meaning everybody will have to update their address books.

The codes will be a combination of letters and numbers, giving each location a unique way to identify it.

The contract for the design and implementation of the post-code system went out to tender last week.

The Government's plan is to have the system in place by early 2011.

Communications Minister Eamon Ryan told the Irish Independent the post codes will be proceeding as planned with three letters and three numbers.

He said the system would be simple and there would be a link between the location and the code, so Cork will start with a C and so on.

"There will be a certain easy memorability in relation to the city or county," he said.

Cost

The cost of introducing the system was estimated two years ago at about €10m, but an up-to-date price will only be known from the tender documents.

The introduction of post codes is intended to boost the amount of mail being sent and increase national competitiveness. It will also make the postal sector more efficient and deal with the problem of the same address popping up in different locations.