Datasets

Eircode

If you visited Ireland prior to July 2015 , you will know that finding a specific Irish address was difficult. Why? Mainly because one third of Irish addresses were not unique – they had no property name or number.

You can imagine the costs in terms of non-delivery, delayed delivery and delivery fraud. Organisations and people sending mail and parcels were entirely reliant on the local knowledge of the postie.

In addition, insurance and financial institutions had been unable to specifically identify an address, exposing themselves to expensive property risks.

Try It

Using the form below, enter an Eircode or start typing an Irish address to see the address returned. An example Eircode is D22 A298.

Datasets

Eircode

Every single one of the 2.2 million letterbox addresses in Ireland has its own unique Eircode. The Eircode has now been appended to government data where 47 million different versions of Irish addresses have each been resolved and appended with the correct Eircode.

Just like the UK postcode, initial take-up of the Ireland Eircode has been slow. However, the rate of use is rising and two 30 second TV advertising campaigns are helping to drive take-up by making it clear just how much citizens have to gain by using it. You can watch the advert here:  https://youtu.be/stF77vmLT3o

Having a postcode system is regarded by the United Nations as a key component of national and international economic development. The system is already delivering financial and service benefits to Irish citizens as organisations like PayPal increasingly insist on its use and as Irish residents see the service benefits of voluntarily using their Eircode.

For the first time, you can have your Irish data cleansed to delivery point level and use Eircode with AFD WorldAddress to ensure that from now on Irish addresses entered into your database are consistent.

As an option, we can also provide a grid reference with every Eircode, providing pin-point accuracy for logistics and distribution route planning and ‘Where’s my nearest?’ solutions.

If necessary, we are able to differentiate between postal and geographic addresses. Please contact a sales representative as additional licensing may be required.

Please note, addresses for Northern Ireland are included as part of all AFD UK data solutions.

Eircode use has increased following a series of TV advertisements emphasising how Eircode can make life easier (see an amusing example at the link above), and as household brands have requested an Eircode to complete an order that requires a delivery address.

Tesco, Domino’s Pizza, Curry’s PC World and Boots are just a few of the retailers who now require an Eircode. A recent survey to understand Eircode usage showed that since its introduction in 2015, 72% of Irish homeowners have now used their Eircode, 76% know what their Eircode is, and 69% said Eircode’s are useful.

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