Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome. I sincerely wish her every success in the forthcoming general election. I appreciate her friendship and the warmth she has shown throughout the years since I got to know her. My question is to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. I ask him to clarify whether it is possible for constituents to appeal their Eircode when it is different from the property's geographical address.

Dublin residents have raised with me serious concerns about the new Eircode system which places them in an area geographically different from their actual home address. Significant changes in the traditional, designated districts have caused great upset. For example, there are people all over Ireland who have been located in geographically incorrect towns, counties and even provinces. The system has even located Shannon Airport in County Limerick, whereas we all know it is in County Clare, while residents in Leixlip have had Naas added to their address. West Wicklow homes have got a Kildare postcode and, according to Eircode, people from Dublin 16 actually live in Dublin 24. The list of inaccuracies is endless.

In other countries, codes are assigned in an orderly fashion and as a result houses and areas that are close to each other have a similar or the same code. The new Eircode system has created amazing confusion. Every Government agency I have contacted about this issue has completely washed its hands of it. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources redirected me to Capita, which subsequently told me the issue was out of its control as the postcodes are assigned by An Post. It is absolutely absurd that this new Eircode system is live when it is so riddled with flaws.

The system is not fit for purpose in its current form and, strictly speaking, it is not even a postcode system. Even at this late stage, a period of up to one year for an appeal process relating to the Eircode anomaly should be established. It is common sense. The Minister should arrange a consultation with citizens and communities who have legitimate grievances and be ready to make adjustments. After all, we live in a democracy.