New postal codes are rolled out

Each house in County Meath - and around the country - is set to get a new postcode from this week.

The new Eircode postcode system was launched today, with each dwelling in Ireland getting a unique seven-digit identifying code. The new national postcode system bring Ireland into line with other European countries which have used postcodes for decades.

All households throughout the country will be notified of their new Eircode over the coming three weeks or so. Householders can also check their new postcode on the Eircode website: www.eircode.ie

There will be a limit of 15 searches per day for people to look up addresses. The reason there is a limit is to discourage commercial use.

The new Eircode is a seven character alpha-numeric code made up of two parts. The first will be made up of three characters and is the postal area governing the particular address. The second, a unique identifier, will pinpoint an address and distinguish one address from another.

There has been some criticism of the new system, which has reportedly cost €27 million to introduce. At the present time, the new codes cannot be used in conjunction with satellite navigation systems or Google Maps.

The Freight Transport Association of Ireland said that while a postcode system is needed, the Eircode system is insufficient for the parcel and package industry.

Conradh na Gaeilge also criticised the new system and has asked the Dept of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to rectify the thousands of 'gaps and inaccuracies' when it comes to addresses in Irish in the database.

It claims up to 50,000 placenames are inaccurate or missing from the database that is in use.