Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2010
52 Deputy Deirdre Clune asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he has changed his approach to the roll out of the postcode system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16581/10]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have not changed my philosophy or my approach to the roll out of a national postcode system in Ireland. I continue to believe a smart economy requires that the underlying infrastructure supports enterprises based on knowledge and innovation. For this, an ability to collate and assess data spatially is a prerequisite. This is where postcodes play a key role and where they can deliver economic and social benefits across the whole economy.
As the Deputy is aware, the Government has approved the implementation of a postcode system as recommended by the National Postcode Project Board. This Board, which comprised representatives from Government Departments, together with public and private sector organisations, was established to recommend the most technically appropriate postcode system for Ireland, design an implementation plan and assess the costs and benefits of postcodes. In the course of its deliberations, the Board looked at a number of postcode models and technologies including postal sector models and a number of spatial and hybrid postcode models taking into account a number of factors including memorability, likely uptake by the public and ability to adapt to emerging technologies. The model recommended, and since approved by Government, is an alpha-numeric, publicly available and accessible postal sector model.
Each postcode will have a geo-coordinate at its centre and consequently, would be compatible with global positioning or navigation systems, allowing integration with GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite technologies. Indeed, applications based on such systems, become much more readily accessible to the public through the use of a postcode. My officials and I are currently working to implement this project. That delivery will be effected by way of a competitive tender process. A competition will be re-tendered shortly to select a body that will assist the Department in managing the delivery of a working postcodes system. Because of the need to re-tender I envisage some slippage in the originally targeted date for introduction of a postcode system. However, I still expect to have rolled out a national postcodes system in 2011.
