Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2010
300 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to introduce a system of national postcodes and the form such a system will take; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46348/10]
View answer301 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has considered introducing a digital national postcode system based on GPS technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46349/10]
View answer302 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has considered the benefits for business and tourism that a digital national postcode system based on GPS technology would have; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46350/10]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 300 to 302, inclusive, together.
Ireland is the only country in the EU and OECD which does not have a national postcode system. The National Postcode Project Board (NPPB) recommended in 2006 that Ireland should implement a postcode system due to the multiple benefits that this would afford to both postal and non-postal applications.
The NPPB also recommended that the optimum technical solution to be adopted was the ‘Postal Sector Model'. This uses an ‘ABC 123' structure to reference in the first instance the relevant Post Town, and secondly the ‘Block Face' (a grouping of approximately 40 to 50 dwellings).
In October 2009, the Minister announced his intention to implement a National Postcode System with an anticipated realisation date of December 2011 and that the potential to further enhance the system in order to uniquely identify buildings should be considered as part of this implementation process.
