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

I thank the Deputy for his questions. On the first point with regard to emergency services, my information is that the ambulance services have welcomed it. I do not have information on fire services but my officials certainly will follow up on that point. An exhaustive consultative process has been carried out in this regard and consequently, I am sure the fire services already have been contacted. However, if concerns exist there, the Department must follow up on them. In respect of the non-sequenced nature of the Eircode system, there probably is a couple of elements in the thinking behind it. First, one reason behind the non-sequenced mechanism is the desire to avoid setting up a discriminatory system in which certain areas could be targeted by geography or otherwise if they all were in one block. Second, a feature of development in Ireland is the use of once-off housing. The Deputy might consider an example of a roadway in his own constituency in which two houses stand at present. It is possible that in two years' time, a brother or sister will build a house in between the two. It would be difficult to come up with a sequenced system that would build into future planning. However, I certainly will raise the concern regarding the fire services.

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