Eircode Launch Day

So today is the day that, finally, Eircodes got launched. After many years of discussion and waiting, we finally have an official postal code system in Ireland.

While it is a huge relief that the project is finally over the line and the public can start to take advantage of all of the benefits that having a postcode can bring, we now await the public reaction to see what initial Eircode adoption rates are likely to be.

A lot of the first response, judging by social media (normally a bad place to judge, unless you're seeking jerking of knees), revolves around the address that Eircode is returning alongside the Eircode.

The returned address relates to An Post's official postal address, which is why we're seeing odd results that seem to place Shannon Airport in Limerick, not Clare. 

It is important that people bear in mind that the advice from Eircode is that you append your new code to your existing address. You do not have to use the official An Post address to use your Eircode.

Autoaddress, the software that was used to design the code and append 46 million government addresses, handles this addressing issue seamlessly. When dealing with customer address data, we store the version of the address that the customer gives us, and append an Eircode to this. 

It is best practice in customer management to, where possible, use the address data supplied by the customer, even if it seems to be incorrect. Let your customers tell you where they live, and use Autoaddress and Eircode to manage your data and optimise deliveries and services with your back end systems.