Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cost to the Exchequer of the national Eircode system over the ten-year cycle of the contract is expected to be €27 million, excluding VAT, with costs covering design, database upgrades, media and postcode distribution. The cost of the contract will be €16 million over the first two years and a further €1.2 million per annum for the remaining eight years of the contract. The bulk of the cost can be attributed to the dissemination and communications processes. The cost of designing the Eircode postcodes and associated databases is not a significant component of the overall cost.

Capita, the company employed, has been paid €3.22 million, including VAT, to date on foot of delivery of agreed milestones. For further clarification, consultancy costs from 2010 to 2014 were €1.12797 million. PA Consulting received €941,000, including VAT, Mason Hayes & Curran received €141,000, including VAT, while other consultants received €44,000. The Deputy referred specifically to costs. On the cost to businesses and SMEs from the introduction of Eircode, Eircode postcodes will be made available to a variety of business users who can avail of the postcodes free of charge for a limited number of look-ups per day, approximately 15, from a dedicated website.

See this speech in context