How Ireland's controversial Eircode system proved critics wrong 10 years on

Irish Daily Mirror

6 days ago

Over 97% of people in Ireland say they have a validated Eircode for their home address, 10 years after the initiative was launched.
Since its launch in 2015, there have been 197.3million look-ups on the online finder, with two million average searches per month last year. However, a decade ago the initiative was not widely welcomed. At the time, experts said the €38m project was 'not fit for purpose'.
It was initially supposed to cost €18m, but it went more than double over budget. The biggest criticism of Eircode at the time was that it's not strictly geographical, like the UK's system, which can be confusing.
While the first three characters of an Eircode, the routing key, is linked to a broad area, it doesn't precisely map smaller units such as a street or even a town. The four characters after this routing key are completely unique to an individual address and are not geographically sequential.
The random nature of the codes were slammed at the time, with the Irish Fire and Emergency Services Association chairperson John Kidd saying it could be 'catastrophic' in emergency situations. He said the random nature of codes could be detrimental in an emergency, potentially leading to incorrect locations and significant delays.
Mr Kidd added that it would be of little benefit to rural areas, and because Eircodes aren't predictable and can't be learned easily, it's not as useful as Northern Ireland's postcode system. In 2015, multiple companies such as FedEx, DHL and BOC Ireland said it would not be using the postcode system for deliveries.
However, shortly after its launch, the National Ambulance Service integrated Eircodes into its computerised dispatch system. It also encourages people seeking an emergency ambulance to have their Eircode at hand.
A key driver for the introduction of Eircodes was to deal with challenges faced by non-unique addresses in the country. It found that 35% of all properties in Ireland shared an address with another property, which was a difficulty for emergency services.
In 2024, 41,624 addresses were assigned an Eircode, with 38,851 the previous year. So far, 2.5million addresses have been assigned an Eircode.
The initiative was launched by Capita Business Support Services, which was awarded the contract to develop Ireland's postcode system in December 2013. Speaking as Eircode celebrated its 10th anniversary, the company's managing director
Gillian Chamberlain said the service 'has become an essential part of everyday life in Ireland.' She added: 'Eircode has proven its value across the public and private sectors and this milestone is a testament to the dedication of our team and the strength of our partnership with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. We look forward to ensuring the continued success of this vital national infrastructure."
Minister of State for Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue, said Eircode's usage 'continues to grow'. He said: 'It is used widely among the public, businesses and public sector with independent research showing that 97% of respondents were able to supply a validated Eircode for their address.
'The continued use of the free-to-use Eircode Finder website, which has received 197 million look-ups since launch, further proves that Eircodes are utilised on a daily basis. I want to congratulate Capita Business Support Services Ireland Limited for the outstanding work they have done in operating Eircodes on behalf of the State, and I look forward to our continued partnership.'
Since its inception, the public have been widely encouraged to learn their home Eircode or have it to hand in case of an emergency. There have been various advertisement campaigns over the years aiming to show the importance of the system.
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