Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our visitors and commend them on their eye-catching presentation. It is said a picture paints a thousand words.

On the Malahide Road and Swords Road anomaly, I entirely understand the proposition but how will this be addressed? The witness is correct that sometimes there is an ingrained familiarity in the Irish mindset. Often when a building in rural Ireland ceases to function as it did previously it retains its former title in some way; for example, if a building formerly functioned as a post office the likelihood is it will still be known as the "old post office". This can be quite confusing when one considers how buildings are situated in towns and villages and how they are named. How can this be addressed?

I know Ballymacarbry in west Waterford and I am very familiar with Clonmel. I asked myself whether there is another Ballymacarbry near Clonmel because people in west Cork take the N25 to Ballymacarbry and the M8 to Clonmel. Will the recognition of postal areas cause confusion when a postcode system is introduced? Will there be a division?

How realistic is numbering properties and renaming roads? I have huge reservations about this process, not least because of the traditional method of recognising placenames and areas. If we do not number properties and rename roads, will it adversely affect the roll-out of postcodes? Is this process realistic? It might be fine in Malahide, Swords and urban areas but it may be unrealistic in rural areas, though I would welcome views to the contrary.