I propose to take Questions Nos. 456, 459 and 472 together.
The Government approved the appointment of Capita Business Support Services Ireland Limited as the company which will develop, roll-out and operate the National Postcode System following the conclusion of the public procurement process in 2013.
My Department received no offer to provide a postcode system without cost as part of the procurement process under which the postcode operator was chosen.
The introduction of the national postcode system to the state is expected to cost around €16m as the postcode system is developed and rolled out over the next 2 years and there will be a cost of about €1.2m per year over the remainder of the licence period.
It is intended that householders will be informed of their postcodes in 2015 when the system will come into operation. In the meantime the groundwork designing the code and updating private and public sector databases to accommodate the new postcode system is currently under way.
The design of the postcode is currently being finalised. At the time of the conclusion of the procurement it was announced that the postcode is intended to be a 7 character code and in Dublin, the existing postal districts will appear as the first 3 characters of the new postcode.
My Department received correspondence from the EU Commission during 2012 in relation to the procurement process for the National Postcode System. The case was fully examined by the EU Commission which informed the Department in November 2013 that the matter was closed and no further action would be taken by the Commission.