Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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526. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to include the new Eircode postcode in all schemes and administrative roles operated by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28317/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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All of the administrative systems in my Department have the capacity to record the new Eircode. All new stocks of preprinted stationery will include Eircode.

The HSE specified the implementation of Eircode in the national Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) client database as a key priority in the HSE's National Service Plan 2015 and included its delivery in the Primary Care Operational Plan 2015. It has established a national team to coordinate the implementation of Eircodes in the Health Service. PCRS, which holds the largest client database in the health service, has worked with the national Eircode project to ensure that this database is seeded with Eircodes from the outset. PCRS will be central to the dissemination of Eircodes throughout the health system.

The HSE National Ambulance Service has engaged with the national Eircode project and is in the process of developing its new National Ambulance Control ICT System which will be Eircode enabled.

HSE offices will phase in Eircode fields into forms as it reprints and restocks them.

I warmly welcome the introduction of Eircode which I believe will be of significant benefit to the health service.