Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the position regarding his plan to introduce postcodes; if the consultation process has concluded; if he has received a report on the matter; if so, when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13627/06]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is favourably disposed towards the introduction of postcodes because of the case made that a national postcode system would offer significant potential benefits for the postal business, public utilities, business and consumers and the general public, including addressing the issue of non-unique addresses.

To examine the introduction of a postcode system in Ireland, the Minister established a working group comprised of people with experience of the postal sector, together with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which is the lead Department for the Irish spatial data infrastructure initiative to examine the issue of the introduction of a postcode system in Ireland. This group produced its report last year. The report found that the introduction of a publicly available postcode could deliver many potential benefits. The purpose of a postcode system would be to improve efficiencies and quality in the postal sector, stimulate mail volume growth, assist utilities and emergency services and address the problem of non-unique addressing. These improvements collectively will boost the country's competitiveness.

Following on from the recommendations of the working group report, the Minister asked the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, to appoint project managers to support the postcode project by providing technical and economic advice including assessing the costs and benefits of the introduction of a postcode. ComReg, following an open and competitive tendering process, appointed both technical and economic consultants. A National Postcode Project Board, comprising representatives of Departments, together with public and private sector organisations that he appointed last year, is managing these.

One constituent part of the consultants' work programmes is that they engage in a process of stakeholder consultation with a view to arriving at a postcode model that best meets the needs of the stakeholders and measures the likely costs and benefits of the introduction of such a postcode. The technical advisers to the project engaged in a consultation process with key stakeholders late last year and at the beginning of this year with a view to making a recommendation as to the postcode models to progress to full cost benefit analysis. An extensive consultation process is currently being conducted by the cost benefit consultants with a view to calculating the net benefits that might accrue from the introduction of each particular postcode being examined.

It is expected that the consultants will present, by the second quarter this year, a proposal to the National Postcode Project Board that describes in sufficient detail the most appropriate postcode system for Ireland, along with a detailed implementation plan. The board will then present its recommendation to the Minister for his consideration.