Postcode system could save public bodies €22m
The introduction of a national postcode system could save €22m and create efficiencies in all areas of social and economic planning.
The introduction of a national postcode system could mean benefits of €22m for public bodies, according to a new report.
Ireland is the only country in the EU that does not use national postcodes, and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, plans to bring proposals on the issue to government shortly.
The report, which evaluated the monetary benefits of national postcodes at the request of the minister, estimated that it would save public bodies, including the emergency services, €22m and would create efficiencies in all areas of social and economic planning.
Ireland’s postal sector is due to liberalise fully on January 1, and postcodes would form an important piece of infrastructure for competition, according to the report.
Cost savings were identified in a number of government departments, including Revenue and the Department of the Environment, along with Health, and Social and Family Affairs.
A postcode system would facilitate cross-departmental sharing of public data and information dramatically cutting waste and duplication.
The country’s rapid heterogeneous population growth also increases the need for efficient database based on postcodes reducing inefficient service delivery and infrastructural planning.
In addition, postcodes are seen as vital to efficient spatial planning and aiding health research, education, housing social care and employment integration.
The business sector has said that a postcode system would lead to increased efficiencies, while the insurance sector has estimated that it would result in annual savings of around €40m by improving their risk management assessments.
But An Post opposes a national postcode, saying it is an unnecessary expenditure that may not be widely used.
Former Communications Minister Noel Dempsey aimed to introduce postcodes by next month, but this was deferred to allow for further consideration of the economic benefits. The National Postcode Project Board has said that the cost of implementing and promoting a national postcode system would be an estimated €15m.
Annual maintenance costs for a postcode management licence holder are estimated at about €2.5m, but the minister said last week that ongoing costs would be covered by income generated by the eventual licence holder.
Previous suggestions were for multiple numeric and alphabetical postcodes, similar to those used in other parts of Europe.
These might include the one and two-character county codes currently used in vehicle registration plates, but Conradh na Gaeilge wants a postcode that recognises both languages.
