Implementing Postcodes in Ireland
The Irish Government has claimed that Ireland will be the first country in the world to have a public database of unique identifiers for properties. This is said, will help citizens, public bodies and businesses to locate every individual household, apartment and business in the State.
The general consensus is that a Postcode Management Licence Holder (PMLH) will manage the postcode database and license its use through third-party suppliers – this would follow a similar model to the UK.
Parcel delivery will be more efficient, as drivers will not be required to have local knowledge, leading to savings for the consumer. The area of property and the health services could also be set for a digital overhaul.
Tom Hayes, who is head of micro-enterprise and small business at Enterprise Ireland, is also of the general view that this postal system overhaul via codes could generate business spin-offs, especially for existing players who are operating in the area of information management and in spatial management.
The postal coding system “might also fit into the smart-city approach”, he said.
This, for instance, could be applicable to urban planning, and making systems like transport services flow faster, using data to map out peak travel times for commuters, school belts around the city, or hospital routes. It could also be applicable to the regions – opening up information on census data so that planners and property developers can know when to put in new playgrounds, nursing homes and healthcare services – based on demographic inflows and outflows.
Acquaint CRM will have postal codes built into it to help with locations services already in the software package. Features that postal codes will be integrated into include mapping the location of properties for brochures and viewings.