GoodBye Dublin 8, Hello Dublin 08!
The Department of Communications are launching new postal codes today. These will be called an Eircode. It has cost €27 million to set it up. They have set up a website, www.eircode.ie. Homeowners can expect a letter in the post in 2 weeks time explaining this new system to them. Postal codes in Dublin with numbers 1 to 9 are going to be replaced with ‘D0’ so Dublin 9 will be ‘D09’. Areas outside central Dublin will get a six figure identifier. Cork will have the letter ‘T’ and Galway will have the letter ‘H’. Delivery firms are adamant that this new system will not work and are going to boycott it.
In Leinster House one senator is also sceptical, and he called it a ‘fiasco’. The Department of Communications hope to see the Eircode system integrated into GPS and Satnav devices. A spokesman from Tom Tom said “Tom Tom recognises the importance of high quality addressing for our users, and we are therefore currently looking at incorporating Eircode postal codes into our maps and devices. However, we are unable to confirm an available date at this time.”
Capita, the company that developed Eircode are in talks with Google presently discussing with them to enable Google apps to accept the Eircode app. The Department of Communications said “the timing of its availability through Satnvav depends on each company’s development timelines, but we believe they will adopt it quickly because their products will benefit.’
Fianna Fail spokesman Michael Moynihan said “It is crazy that this new system is going live today when it is still riddles with flaws. It will result in chaos for businesses, emergency services, motorists and householders. What is the point in having new postcodes if people can’t access them on Satnavs and on Google maps? Instead of helping businesses and members of the public to locate addresses, it now looks like the new system will just create more confusion’.
The Communications Minister, Alex White is going to launch this new system at the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin today. A spokesman from the Department of Communications has said that they are working on updating the Irish language place names at the moment, and people who had these versions would not be required to change them from Irish to English.
