The dramatic rise of online shopping and increase in parcel and packet traffic in Ireland may explain why the proposed Eircode postcode is so limited- claims FTA Ireland today.
The warning comes in response to the An Post’s Annual Report 2014 - issued last week which revealed that while there was a 3.3% decline in standard postal mail business, parcel and packet deliveries increased by 6% year-on-year.
Neil McDonnell, FTA Ireland General Manager commented:
"This is an issue of concern for FTA Ireland and its members. While standard mail volumes are going through a structural and unstoppable decline, parcel volumes are likely to continue to expand for the foreseeable future. E-commerce is the fastest growing retail market in Europe. It is for this reason that a structured postcode is so important for Ireland. A random postcode will simply not provide the necessary or achievable savings for the distribution sector in delivering sustainable, cost effective solutions.”
FTAI has long voiced its concerns over the Eircode system outlining the issues that it would raise for the freight and logistics industry, and delivery operations in Ireland.
Mr McDonnell continued:
"We consider it a distortion of a fair parcel and packet distribution market that Ireland’s postcode will be a random postal address identifier, rather than a structured postcode. While An Post has long-established (and free) access to the state’s entire address database, a random postcode will impose a cost on all An Post competitors, for no operational gain, or consumer benefit."
In November 2014 FTAI led a delegation of companies that met the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications (JCTC) to express deep concerns regarding the national postcode, proposed for introduction by the Department of Communications, Environment and Natural Resources (DCENR) in 2015. The delegation stated that the introduction of Eircode was likely to appeal to the Revenue, utilities and other companies that interact with the public via postal mail, but its use for parcel, freight, energy and passenger firms was likely to be severely compromised.