Mr. Gary Delaney:

The main manufacturers in the Sat Nav world, Garmin and TomTom, which do not rely on telecommunications have no plans to introduce Eircode. If they did at some point in the future, then the user would have to load a database. That would be facilitated but, as I said earlier, loading a database and keeping it up to date is not something we are good at. Garmin has locate code working, which can be used free in Ireland right now. It is on the device. It has been there for five years and it is tried, tested and proven. I accept what the Senator said because that is what people expect but, unfortunately, with Eircode, that is not happening, and I could in cameratell the committee about the conversations I have had about Eircode, because I deal directly with Garmin and TomTom.

I was asked about the downsides. In annex D, I have listed a selection of thousands of locations in Ireland that will have no Eircode. They extend from farms, where there are many accidents nowadays that emergency services need to attend; forests, the entrances to which fire services need to access; outdoor sporting events; outdoor leisure activities, including festivals; and, for example, on a campus such as UCD, all of its properties except the one to which the mail is delivered. The downside of Eircode is it will not address all the requirements of this economy. Logistics companies are not interested in going directly to properties. They want to know where the entrance is so this system does not address that eitherIt will not address all the needs of a modern economy. If we introduce a postcode that is worse than a traditional postcode and it does not address modern requirements, then we will have a code that within a small number of months will not be used at all. We also have a legal problem because it will not comply with the legislation.