Cannon urges people in Galway to keep Eircode at hand

By Amy Blaney

TD Ciaran Cannon is urging people to keep their unique Eircode near a phone or learn it by memory.

The re-elected minister said the Eircode system has huge benefits in helping cut down on the amount of time it takes to find a person’s home for both home deliveries and emergencies.

“Just last month, a civil service customer satisfaction survey estimated that some 60% of people have either rarely or never used the Eircode system which was launched almost 5 years ago.

“While that may be the case, the system has huge benefits especially in helping cut down on the amount of time it takes to find a person’s home”, he said.

The system was introduced in 2015 at a cost of €38 million, nearly €20 million over budget, and has been widely criticised for its cost and lack of design.

A survey carried out by an Ipsos MRBI poll in 2019 found that 30 per cent of the population never use their Eircode, and 32 per cent use it occasionally.

The introduction of the postal system in 2015 was badly advertised, and the random design of the codes made them hard to memorize. The slow role-out of the system nationwide was also criticised as it was not initially integrated with google maps.

An post came under fire in 2017 for admitting the company does not use the €38 million Eircode system for local deliveries, stating delivery men and women could not be expected to remember the post code of each home.

However, many retailers in Galway are offering home delivery services following the coronavirus outbreak. Posting one’s Eircode near the phone at home could help with facilitating quicker home deliveries. It could also be crucial for health workers in emergency situations if needed.

Minister Cannon added “Consequently, I encourage all citizens and especially those who may not have used their Eircode up to now, to ensure that they commit it to memory, or post it in a prominent place near the phone which will cut down considerably on the time it takes to locate their home”.

If you have misplaced your Eircode, you can enter your address and find it here.