Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in respect of the introduction of postcodes in spring 2015, if his Department will have a dedicated information campaign to inform businesses of the changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42343/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he expects the new postcode system to take effect; the estimated cost of introducing this system; if this cost has been ring-fenced within his Department's budget for 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42337/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if legislation is required to deal with privacy issues in respect of the introduction of postcodes; the nature of these privacy concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42338/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to recent criticisms of the proposed new postcode system, particularly those of the Freight Transport Association of Ireland and those of the Irish fire and emergency services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42339/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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203. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when the public information campaign in respect of the introduction of postcodes in spring 2015 will commence; the details of this campaign; if there will be targeted messaging for differing stakeholders, including consumers, wider public and businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42342/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 199 to 203, inclusive, together.

In December 2013, a ten-year contract was signed with Capita Business Support Services Ireland Limited to develop, roll-out and operate the National Postcode System following a public procurement process.

The design for the National Postcode System was approved by Government last April. The ‘Eircode’ brand was launched for the National Postcode System on 28 April. The project is currently in the implementation phase and is scheduled to be rolled out nationwide by the middle of 2015. Every Irish address will be receiving a unique Eircode by post.

The public awareness campaign began last April with the launch of the website . This website has information on Eircodes for both residents and businesses. The Postcode Management Licence Holder has briefed businesses in the interim through a series of seminars and plans further business events before the end of the year.

A comprehensive public information campaign will commence before the planned postcode launch in mid 2015. A key part of the campaign will involve outreach activities to ensure that all members of the general public receive information on Eircodes in an effective way.

The cost to the Exchequer of the National Postcode System over the 10 year cycle of the contract is expected to be €26m (ex VAT) with costs covering design, database upgrades, media and postcode distribution. The cost of the contract will be €16m over the first two years and this funding has been ring fenced in my Department’s 2015 budget.

One of the main benefits of the design chosen which allocates a unique identifier to each address is that it helps resolve the issue of non-unique addresses which represent 35% of addresses in Ireland.

The Freight Transport Association of Ireland and other bodies have expressed concerns over the non-sequenced nature of the Eircode. The postcode design chosen will work to meet the needs of a wide range of public and private users, including logistics and delivery providers and the emergency services. A sequential design has a number of drawbacks, including the potential to lead to inability to assign a sequential Eircode to new build and to cope with the expansion in the number of addresses in the future.

The Eircode postcode will provide a geo location, sourced from Ordnance Survey Ireland, for postal address points that will assist with navigation and will link with online maps. When an Eircode for an address is entered into such systems, it will be possible to find relevant location and routing information. The introduction of Eircodes will be an important and effective strategic addition to our national infrastructure.

Privacy and data protection issues have been part of the debate on postcodes since the establishment of a National Postcodes Board in 2005 to examine the introduction of postcodes in Ireland. There has been engagement with the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner on the issue of postcodes generally at various points since then.

The necessary protections will operate around the use of Eircodes to ensure that data protection legislation is complied with. Holders of personal data are bound by Data Protection legislation on how they store and use this data, and the introduction of Eircodes will not alter this obligation.