Archives



Business, Freight News, Logistics, Road


Ireland still failing to deliver postcodes

[ July 4, 2013   //   ]

The Freight Transport Association Ireland says it is becoming very frustrated at the lack of any progress in introducing a post code system for the country. While a working group recommended introduction of a system as long ago as 2005, and again in 2006 by the National Postcode Panel Board. In 2009 the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, announced that the government had approved the introduction of a system, but there are still no time-bound plans for its delivery, says FTAI – nor has there been any information from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Postcodes would greatly speed up deliveries, especially e-commerce shipments in an often confusing country. Many Irish towns and villages have ‘townland’ settlements, often miles away from the ‘parent’ location but bearing the same name.

FTAI’s head of policy, Declan McKeon, said: “We met with Minister Pat Rabbitte and his officials in September 2012, along with affected FTA Ireland members, to outline the importance of such a system, and he committed to finishing the procurement process in early 2013.  This was subsequently pushed back to the end of the first quarter of 2013, then to the end of the second quarter.  His department is giving no commitment on the schedule or any progress that has been made, and has refused to discuss the issue with us.

Private industry has developed its own system, ‘Loc8’, which already has 200,000 codes and is widely used by many organisations, including local authorities. However, says McKeon: “We believe that the introduction of an official system is long overdue.”

Tags: ,