Mr. John Tuohy:

The Deputy has asked a number of questions there. On the issue of sequencing, this discussion only arises if we assume we do not have modern technology available. Once every property in the country has a label or code and we know where it is, then it is possible to sequence the delivery route of a driver or postal operator. The first part of the Eircode, the three starting digits, is what we consider a high level code. This will refer to an area. We will have 139 of these "routing codes" as Eircode calls them, but I call them high level postcodes. Therefore, the country will be divided into 139 areas. Currently, when we sort parcels at our hub in Finglas, we can only sort parcels into 26 areas, by county, which is inefficient. Now, we will have 139 subdivisions, which is quite enough. In the UK system I mentioned earlier, covering the whole of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, there are only 124 high level post codes.