Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their contributions and especially for their constructive input into this debate. I appreciate the general support that has been expressed for the Bill, or at least the absence of opposition to the specific provisions contained in it. I accept that Deputies raised some general matters relating to the national postcode project. I will come to some of those in the course of my reply.

The number of Deputies who spoke and the range of their contributions is a testament to the importance and relevance of the proposed postcode system. I welcome this opportunity to respond to some of the various comments and observations that were made on the provisions of this Bill and in the broader context. We can all agree that the development of a national postcode is a progressive achievement of the country. I think most colleagues are in agreement on that. Regardless of what people might say about the particular form of the postcode, there appears to be almost universal agreement that it is desirable that we should have a national postcode system.

The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) (Amendment) Bill 2015 marks an important milestone in the implementation of a national postcode system. It will ensure the highest standards of data protection are applied when postcodes are being used. As I outlined in my earlier statement when I was introducing the Bill, the aim of this legislation is to ensure the public interest is satisfied in relation to the undertaking of specific postcode activities which are fundamental to the implementation of the postcode system. The Bill also sets out the steps that the postcode contractor and the value-added resellers are obliged to comply with in order to ensure the safeguarding of the privacy of owners and occupiers of property in respect of which a postcode has been allocated.

We are not addressing or debating the tender process lying behind this project, which I mentioned in my opening remarks. It is clear that a proper tendering process was followed with regard to this project. That process has not been impugned. When the EU Commission looked at this matter after it was asked to do so, it made it clear that there was no breach whatsoever of procurement rules. That is clearly on the record. I would also like to clarify, in response to the Deputy who raised this matter, that the Commission has asked the Irish authorities for information on the measures adopted generally by Ireland in relation to the avoidance of any possible misinterpretation of the language that is used in the pre-qualification questionnaire. That is an issue of general application in respect of which the Commission is seeking some further information - it is not specific to this project. Members can be reassured with regard to the robustness and the correctness of the procurement process that was followed.

I will do my best to respond to some of the issues that were raised by Deputies during the debate. Deputy Troy asked about the involvement of An Post in the postcode project, particularly during the tender process. I can tell the House that An Post tendered and was involved in the competitive dialogue. Most importantly, An Post is heavily involved in this project and is an integral part of it. An Post was part of the design phase and will be largely responsible for the dissemination of the codes to 2.2 million addresses throughout the State. Eircodes will be fully integrated with An Post's mail-sorting systems. Any integration costs will be part of An Post's overall capital expenditure cost. Those costs are expected to come to approximately €1 million. As I have said, An Post will be heavily involved in the process of disseminating the Eircodes.

The An Post chief executive has said that An Post will work closely with Eircode, the company set up by Capita to manage the codes. An Post is very closely involved in the roll-out of this project.

Many Deputies raised the non-sequential design of the postcode. It is desirable to have this model because it allows for future expansion of the code, for codes to be assigned to new buildings, homes and premises. It also avoids the potential for postcode discrimination that happens in other countries, where postcode lotteries or ghettoes are created by drawing a line around an area on the basis of the information available through postcodes. That will not be the case under our system.

Deputies Troy, Clare Daly, Colreavy, Tom Fleming and perhaps others, raised the support or otherwise for Eircode by organisations, such as the freight industry and emergency services. I repeat there has been widespread support from public and private business for the introduction of Eircode nationally. Nightline, for example, Ireland’s biggest independent logistics firm, fully supports the introduction of Eircode. The objection by one organisation in the emergency services was raised. There is little activity more essential than emergency services. I do not want any impression to go out from this debate that there is anything other than support from them, in particular from the National Ambulance Service, which has welcomed the introduction of Eircode because the codes will facilitate the speedier deployment of these services. This has been stated clearly.

Deputy Colreavy asked what business problem is being solved by Eircode. With respect, there is a business demand and issue to be addressed. The national Eircode system will improve the efficiency and accuracy of internal business processes as a result of the improved accuracy and consistency of databases across the public and private sectors. It will facilitate the accurate location of all addresses in the State, including the 35% of addresses that are not unique. It will make it easier for consumers to shop online and assist the development of Irish online commerce and make it quicker and easier for emergency services to locate addresses, particularly in rural areas. It will facilitate the delivery of improved efficiencies with regard to logistics. We have the support of much of industry for that. It will assist better planning and analysis capabilities in the public and private sectors. It will provide a stimulus to mail volumes through improved direct marketing capabilities, which will help the postal service. It will enable organisations to improve existing services and-or develop new service offerings. It will facilitate improved efficiencies and quality in the mail sector. These are new advantages that will accrue from the Eircode system.

Deputy Pringle made a point about local knowledge associated with the traditional address system. Local knowledge will not disappear. When Eircode comes in this summer the traditional addresses people use will not go away or be deleted from the basic system, memory or use. This will supplement what we have. It will not replace, supplant or wipe out local knowledge. In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, it will not mean that the personal contact we value in post offices and throughout the postal system will go. It is not a replacement for what has been there but an addition, and a very welcome and desirable one.

The Department has briefed all of the emergency services on this project. The code will be available to all emergency services at whatever stage their systems are ready to exploit it. The National Ambulance Service is already constructing a new computer-aided despatch system to use Eircode and this will be deployed in its new state-of-the-art national call centre later this year. It has welcomed the introduction of Eircode as it will facilitate the speedier deployment of its services.

This legislation is to deal with data protection. Deputies Pringle, Boyd Barrett, Clare Daly, and perhaps others, asked about the Data Protection Commissioner. The Data Protection Commissioner has acknowledged the publication of this Bill and views the legislation as a positive underpinning of the implementation and operation of the Eircode system, ensuring that essential data protection safeguards are in place. I want to reassure the House of that. When people raise concerns they are thinking about the use of Eircode with another piece of data. In that case it probably will fall under the Data Protection Commissioner’s definition of personal data but where Eircode is used in conjunction with personal data, such as a name, the Data Protection Acts will apply. The protections will be available in those circumstances. Several Deputies said if we had not used this model there would be no data protection concerns. I question whether there would be no data protection issue if we had used the cluster system. It could be argued that the cluster-based approach is possibly even a greater threat to privacy by making it possible to identify people based on their area or who they live near.

Some of the objections from Deputies Clare Daly, Boyd Barrett, and perhaps Deputy Wallace, related more to the involvement of the contractor, Capita. Private Eyewas mentioned and we can, and often do, get a laugh from Private Eyebut we should be serious about a very serious company and project. Capita employs approximately 2,000 people in this country, across seven business lines. It has contracts with organisations such as the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and has acquired AIB’s international financial services operation. It is a serious company, doing an important job for the State on contract. The notion that we are handing over some public project or something that is an important public policy area to a private company is false. The State is still centre stage. The system is owned by the State but is being operated on its behalf by Capita. It has a ten-year licence but the intellectual property belongs to the State. Eight years of the licence remain and the Minister of the day will have the discretion to extend the licence by five years. Deputies should be clear that ownership rests with the State. I know and understand the concerns people often raise about public services contracted to private bodies. It is a controversial issue and there is no difficulty about debating the proper boundaries for services that ought to be provided directly by the State, a State agency or contracted to private bodies. These issues arise constantly, as one Deputy said, in respect of the health services. There are many successful public services carried out by private companies, for example, construction work done by builders for local authorities. These are successful jobs done for the public good on contract to private providers.

The notion that this private involvement is always bad or objectionable is strange.

A number of indigenous companies, including BearingPoint, Autoaddress, Marketing Network and Prior Communications, are involved in this important project.

On the model used, given the large proportion of Irish addresses - 35% - which are non-unique, a cluster or area-based code would not achieve anything like the benefits that will be achieved using the model we have chosen. Area-based codes would not make it easier to locate some of these addresses. As Deputy Pringle noted, families sharing the same surname frequently live in the same townland. This is one of the main challenges that will be addressed by the form of postcode we have chosen. I believe we have opted for the correct approach.

Deputies raised the issue of cost. The cost to the Exchequer of the roll-out of the national postcode system over the ten-year cycle of the contract is expected to be €27 million, exclusive of value added tax, with costs covering design, database upgrades, media and Eircode 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 project. Since 2010, approximately €1.5 million has been spent on specialist costs arising from the project. The costs of designing Eircode and establishing the Eircode address database account for approximately 9% of total costs. The estimated cost of dissemination to each household will be 6% of the overall total costs. It is expected that 37% of the overall costs over ten years will be attributed to communications and the upgrade of public sector databases.

Deputy Boyd Barrett asked a question on the costs for business. The Eircode address database will be made available to a variety of business users for purchase. As an earlier speaker noted, small and medium enterprises may avail of the Eircodes free of charge for a limited number of look-ups per day from a dedicated website. The comprehensive pricing structure is available on the Eircode website and the costs for business will vary depending on the type of use and number of users in each licensing organisation.

Deputy Halligan asked about a privacy impact assessment. Although it is not yet a statutory requirement, the Department undertook a privacy impact assessment at the request of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. The purpose of the assessment was to ensure that any potential impact on individuals as a result of the introduction of Eircode was recognised and addressed. At a high level, the assessment has concluded that the introduction of Eircodes is unlikely to have any significant adverse effect on the right to privacy. In addition to the licensing conditions with Capita, some strengthening of the data protection safeguards associated with the postcode operations was recommended. The privacy impact statement addresses issues surrounding the need to ensure proper privacy protection and the legislation addresses issues related to data protection.

While this is an important Bill, it is only one aspect of the postcode project, albeit one which required to be addressed in legislation.

I thank Deputies again for their contributions and interest in the Bill. I would welcome the support of the House for its provisions. Through the Chair, I respectfully ask Deputies who are members of the Select Sub-committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to table any amendments they may have as quickly as possible in order that I can give them full and fair consideration. I assure the House that I will consider all amendments with an open mind. My overall objective is to progress the Bill to the Statute Book a quickly as possible. I look forward to constructive engagement with Deputies and Members of the other House in due course.

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