MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS OVERSTEPPING STATUTORY AUTHORITY RE PROPERTY ADDRESS SPECIFICATION

Is Ireland's National Property Addressing System being undermined in favour of the new National Postcode, Eircode, which is not actually used in any meaningful way as a postcode?

The following document is as published & submitted to Minister Denis Naughten TD for his consideration on 30 Jan 2017:-

Introduction

1.      As it is the case that it is widely accepted that a standardised national addressing system is a critical part of a Nation’s infrastructure and governance (and not just for structures where mail is delivered), it has become a matter of concern that Ireland has a growing number of mainly non-standardised property address types in public use (Annex A below refers)

 2.      It is also a matter of concern that many of these address types are being newly recommended and promoted by the current Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment who, according to the evidence presented in this document, would appear to have no statutory authority in relation to property address specification.

 3.      The launch of the controversial National postcode Eircode, in April 2014, and related interventions by the Department of Communications and its contractors since then, seems to have exacerbated the situation. There is a concern that there may be a perception among those involved suggesting that the nature of Eircode is such that a reliable National address system is no longer required and, therefore, the existing addressing system, however limited, can be further undermined in its favour. Consequently, therefore, this suggests that there is an urgent need for the establishment of a National Address Agency to correct this situation, and related perceptions, by specifying and promoting a standardised address type and reversing any related confusion that may have been caused.

 4.      The following sets out related arguments:

Ministerial Encouragement for Use of Multiple Address Types

5.      Since the appointment of Minister Denis Naughten as Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment he has made the following substantive statements concerning matters associated with the types of property addresses to be used in Ireland:

a.      Oireachtas written answers 14th June 2016;- in which he gave support to an Eircode contractor who is promoting the use of new 3-word random addresses via an app using the Eircode name and branding and which is promoted on the Dept. of Communications website. The same app also promotes the use of an alternative postcode to Eircode; - a code which claims to achieve the hierarchical and geographic adjacency characteristics that the Department of Communications stated it was not possible for Eircode to achieve. (a statement which ignores the qualities of Cartesian Geometry as used in map making for centuries)

b.     RTE Radio, Morning Ireland Interview, 14th July 2016; - during which he indicated support for the use of “Geographic” addresses rather than “Postal” addresses by the public.

c.      Oireachtas written answers 6th December 2016; - in which he supported an advert approved by the Department of Communications which encouraged the use of an Eircode only, without any address at all, in calls to the emergency services. This was an advert that, only days later, was found to be misleading, exploitative and inaccurate by the Executive of the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).

d.     Oireachtas written answers 17 January 2017;- in which he gave support to the use of multiple address types including “Commonly Used” (assumed to be elsewhere referred to as “Preferred”), “Postal”, “Geographic” and “Variations”.

In addition, in written answers in the Oireachtas during 2016 and in the Radio interview of 14th July 2016 referred to above, he promoted the benefits that support of Eircode by Google Maps would realise. It is presumed, therefore, that he now also supports the fact that the related contract between Google & Eircode (acting for his Dept.) has not resulted in Google using any of the multiple address types that he himself has promoted to date but, instead, a new type of address generated by Google Maps themselves.

Departmental Assistant Secretary Said No Related Powers In Dept. Of Communications

6.      As stated earlier, it would appear that neither the Minister nor his Department have statutory authority when it comes to the specification of property addressing used in Ireland. Evidence of this includes a related statement by former Assistant Secretary Eamonn Molloy of the Department of Communications; - an Official who had special responsibility for delivery of the National postcode over several years. On 19th June 2014, in his reply to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on a related query, he stated: “Addressing in Ireland is a complex matter and has a variety of actors and it was outside the scope of the Department’s powers to establish a National Address Agency. The Department has legislative powers to implement a National Postcode System, but not a National Address Register”. Whilst the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Amendment Act 2015 may have since given some authority for a database/register, such authority is restricted to the management of a National Postcode, and, very significantly, the delivered code, Eircode, does not fulfill the requirements of that postcode as detailed in the Act and may itself, therefore, have no statutory basis. Furthermore, as justified below, the authority afforded only relates to “Postal” addresses and not any other type of address as have been recommended by the Minister, his Officials and contractors from time to time.

No Related Statutory Authority in Postal Act 2011-2015

7.      Not only does the above statement from Mr. Molloy and examination of associated detail in the 2015 Amendment raise questions about any related authority to establish and maintain the Eircode ECAF/ECAD address databases/registers by the Department of Communications, but so also does it imply that the Minister for Communications has no mandate when it comes to the specification of property addresses. The primary Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011 as amended in 2015 gives authority for a National Postcode (not satisfied by Eircode). However, whilst the Act does mention addresses, it does so only in the context of those addresses being “soft infrastructure” associated with postal services and the operations of the USP, An Post. There appears to be no evidence that it confers any authority on the Minister in relation to the specification of those addresses. Instead, it most definitely gives authority, in relation to adjudicating as to the ease of access to such addresses by those outside An Post, to the Commission for Communications Regulation (COMREG).

“Postal” Address Supported by High Court Judgement

8.      Exercising its related authority, it was COMREG who challenged An Post’s insistence on the use of “Postal” addresses by the public in the High Court in October 2012. It is a matter of public record that former Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte, chose to publicly object to this challenge; - suggesting that he had no substantive statutory remit to otherwise injunct it. As it turned out, COMREG lost the challenge and the related judgement authorised An Post to prescribe the use of a “Postal” address. This confirms that the addresses referred in the Postal Act 2011-2015 are “Postal” addresses only and not any other type of address. In the judgement, it was also specifically stated that An Post was NOT required to deliver to a “Geographic” address and there is no reference to a “Geographic” address in the Postal Act. However, since becoming Minister for Communications, Minister Naughten has repeatedly encouraged the use of “Geographic” addresses, without any qualification or confirmed authority and in direct conflict with Mr. Justice John Hedigan’s High Court ruling on the matter.

NSAI Published Standard for “Postal” Address & Postcode

9.      Whilst it is clearly, therefore, in An Post’s authority to generate, update and insist on the use of “Postal” addresses, the standards in relation to such addresses are defined by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). The relevant standard published by the NSAI is the Irish Standard EN 14142-1-2011 which was published in the same year as the current Postal Act of 2011. This standard defines the construct of a “Postal” address and is very clear in stating that geographic address elements are part of a “Postal” address, but nowhere does it state that a separate “Geographic” address is separately required or encouraged. As a corollary to this, there is no evidence of any Irish (NSAI) or internationally defined standard for a “Geographic” address. Neither ISO 19100 nor the INSPIRE Directive on Spatial Infrastructure in Europe refer to a need for multiple separate address types in any country and especially not a separate “Geographic” address. All National & International published standards quoted support address clarity rather than the additional ambiguity which has evolved and been repeatedly encouraged in Ireland in recent months.

10.   However, it is clear that if Eircode was capable of satisfying the operational sortation & delivery needs of An Post as a postcode (as it was supposed to do), then a “Postal” address which includes the necessary geographic elements and with an Eircode instead of An Post’s “Post Town” (Postal) names/numbers, would satisfy all of the NSAI and other standards as well as the 2012 High Court ruling. As this is not the case or acceptable to An Post, it was for these reasons that then Minister Pat Rabbitte announced, at the launch of Eircode, that the use of Eircode was optional and that mail would be delivered by An Post in the same timescales with or without it (overseen by COMREG). This has given rise to yet another address type, coined by An Post itself as a “Mailing” address, which is a “Postal” address with an Eircode added at the end.

Authority for Address Database/Register in Electoral Act – Minister Coveney’s Department

11.   Moving on then to consider a National address database/registry, from research it is clear that long standing statutory authority in relation to this is actually afforded to Minister Simon Coveney TD’s Department, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, through the Electoral Act 1992-2001. This Act gives authority for a Register of Electors (ROE); - a database/register which contains the name and address (and now Eircode also) of all those registered to participate in elections in Ireland. The ROE is administered by Local Authorities which are also under Minister Coveney’s remit. As the Act refers to matters related to the postage of election material to the addresses of those in the database/register, it can be reasonably deduced that the address referred to is also An Post’s “Postal” address; - the same address type that is supported by the aforementioned 2012 High Court judgement. This database/register has two distinct Data Protection & Privacy advantages over Eircode’s ECAF/ECAD and related derivatives in that:

 a.      it is directly administered by a statutory body discharging its direct statutory authority

and

b.     the related legislation allows the public to make direct contact with a Local Authority to make corrections or have their personal details removed from the version which is traded commercially.

Authority for Address Formation is with Local Authorities

12.   Furthermore, The Planning & Development Act 2000 also gives Minister Coveney’s Department statutory authority in relation to the initial formation of the locality elements of an address for new property developments. Accordingly, therefore, Local Authorities issue related guidelines to property developers on the basis of that authority. Such guidelines, especially in relation to the naming of roads/estates, the numbering of properties and the use of historical placenames and the Irish language, are conspicuously visible on Local Authority websites. It is those same Local Authorities which must then also approve developers’ locality address proposals before passing them to An Post for the additions of the final “Postal” element and their promulgation as approved “Postal” addresses through the Geodirectory in the first instance. It is wholly appropriate, justified and necessary that the Dept. of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government has these statutory remits in relation to addresses and related databases/registries as it is that Department and its Local Authorities which must manage general property construction, its own property stock and related standards, identification and access; - including for emergency vehicles.

Need For National Address Agency

13.   In July 2014, I first publicly called for the establishment of a National Address Agency to resolve the address confusion which already existed and which was widely recognised at that point. I repeated this call when I was invited to give evidence to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications on the subject of Eircode in June 2015. On all occasions I emphasised my honestly held opinion that matters relating to the Eircode postcode would make that confusion worse and the need for a National Address Agency even more urgent. It is also now my honestly held opinion, that Minister Naughten’s related public statements, since assuming office and responsibility for Eircode, have served in no small way to strengthen the case. The content of this document suggests that there is strong evidence that the Minister has overstepped the authority of his ministry on the subject of property addressing.

14.   It would appear that the Minister, his Officials and his contractors may hold a perception that a standardised and fully functioning property address system is no longer required in Ireland and seem prepared to further undermine the existing system in favour of the promotion of Eircode. As a result, therefore, it would appear that the Minister is also responsible for further compromising Ireland’s already limited property address system by adding considerably to the number of address types associated with a single property now in public use, and for the associated confusion (including for the emergency services) which this can potentially cause. This especially conflicts which the NSAI and ISO standards mentioned earlier and the interoperability of spatial data as encouraged in Europe’s INSPIRE Directive for spatial infrastructure.

Eircode Design Does Not Resolve Property Addressing Problems

15.   The design and delivery of the National postcode, which evolved over a period of 10 years beginning in 2003, offered a unique opportunity to help resolve issues related to property addressing in Ireland. A large proportion of the capital spend by the Department Of Communications on the Eircode postcode was committed to the improvement of Public Service address-inclusive databases/registers. However, because of the visual randomness of the Eircode design and its failure to satisfy the specification for it, as laid out in the Postal Act 2011, and the normal expectations of a National Postcode as detailed in the NSAI Irish standard EN 14142-1-2011 referred to above, the code is totally dependent on an address database/registry to function reliably. As a consequence, this exacerbates the address problem rather than helping to resolve it. It is conspicuously notable now that to identify the location of any property in Ireland, members of the emergency services, citizens and visitors who do not have local knowledge, are totally dependent on databases/registers and related technologies to decipher both the address (after first establishing which type is used) and also the Eircode postcode. No aspect of locating or finding an unfamiliar address or location has been made easier and nor has any aspect of the sortation and delivery of mail; - and it is matters related to postal services and mail that appear to be the only aspect of addressing that Minister Naughten’s Department has a recognised statutory input into.

Address Ambiguity Now a Greater Issue

16.   The Minister, his Departmental Officials and Eircode contractors have repeatedly justified the Eircode postcode design on the basis of 35% of Irish addresses being non unique. In my evidence to the Oireachtas, referred to earlier, I highlighted that address ambiguity was a much bigger issue. Causing any one property to have multiple types of non-unique addresses associated with it and delivering an Eircode postcode which has no worthwhile human usable characteristics, has ensured that the problems relating to ambiguous addressing and associated difficulties with address validation are now immeasurably worse. It is a matter of concern that the address validation solution to the resultant and growing confusion is dependent on licensed access to a new “alias”/”variation” element in the related address databases/registers which themselves are promoted by Eircode contractors for a fee. It is also notable that the least expensive version of the Eircode database/register, ECAF, only contains a “Postal” address and, for that reason, trying to achieve address validation when multiple other address types are being encouraged is likely to present significant difficulties for those who opt to license it. 

Absence of Eircode Postcode Pilot has contributed to Confusion

17.   All this ambiguity and confusion could have been avoided. Whilst it is verifiable best practice in other countries to run a substantial pilot for a proposed new postcode in advance of roll-out (see Uganda as a recent example), this practice was dismissed as a requirement for Eircode by those involved. However, had it been undertaken as normal, then detailed liaison with other Departments, such as Minister Coveney’s Department and associated Local Authorities, would have been necessary during the pilot. As a direct result, associated issues with the postcode design not fulfilling its statutory requirements, and resolving well recognised problems with property addressing, including who has actual statutory authority, would have been fully resolved long before full Eircode postcode roll-out. There is no doubt that this would have avoided some of the conspicuous and persistent adverse feedback that has been experienced ever since. Such feedback not only includes criticism from trade and emergency service representative bodies, public disquiet over individual addresses, adverse commentary by internationally recognised experts on postcodes and addressing, but it also includes unanimous votes from Councillors in 2 Local Authorities seeking to have the Eircode postcode scrapped.

Multiple Address Types Undermine Eircode Address Validation for Ambulances

18.   Added to this, and as referred to earlier, Minister Naughten is on record as supporting the recent broadcast of an advert which promoted the use of the Eircode postcode without the use of any supporting address for the purposes of mobilising ambulances i.e. encouraging the use of Eircode almost as an address in itself contrary to the designers’ own recommendations. However, the opposite of what is encouraged in the advert is in fact the truth. Ambulance service control verifiably uses Eircode as an address validation tool which, in itself, dictates that an address is always required in an emergency communication. As An Post, through its Geodirectory website, claims that the ambulance service uses their Geodirectory address database/register, and, as that database only contains An Post’s “Postal” addresses; then it is the case that by encouraging people to use multiple other address types of their choice, the Minister is actually also constructively undermining the address validation required by ambulance control and others. As a result, therefore, it can be argued that, through the Minister’s own public statements on the usage of conflicting address types, he is in fact also potentially undermining any capability Eircode may have to help save lives; - this being the very same capability that he has vehemently proclaimed in order to help justify his Department’s spend on Eircode in the first place!

Public Unable to Logically Choose Correct Address Type to Use

19.   It should also be noted that in the simple example of ordering online, a member of the public will not know if An Post will be delivering the purchased goods or not, and so will not have the information necessary to allow them choose whether a “Postal” address or other is appropriate for different retail interactions. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that An Post is now a major competitor to couriers in the parcel delivery market also. Therefore, encouraging the use of alternative addresses, whether “Postal”, “Geographic” or “other”, and requiring a member of the public to choose the appropriate one, based on which service provider will deliver along the last mile to their door, is not only confusing but also logically unworkable.

Need To Reconsider Recommendations Made

20.   Is it possible that Minister Naughten may have misunderstood or been misinformed on his statutory authority in relation to addresses and address databases/registries? I would recommend that, on the basis of the issues and evidence raised in this document, he should now reconsider his understanding of his related statutory authority and, in the interest of public safety and practicality, take steps to redress any related potential for confusion that may have been caused.

Promoting the Establishment of a National Address Agency

21.   In relation to such redress, one step might be for him to help progress the establishment of a necessary National Address Agency. As I have shown, Minister Coveney’s Department already has considerable related statutory authority and necessity and would have a particular interest in this. However, with the impending establishment of “Tailte éireann” within the Department of Justice, with very specific responsibilities for Property mapping, registration and valuation and related geospatial information, it is appropriate that Minister Fitzgerald is also consulted. There may be a very strong case for the Address Agency to be accommodated within Tailte éireann and, as the associated legislation is currently being drafted, related discussions should be initiated as a matter of urgency.

 22.   Such an agency would be tasked with establishing and promoting a single address standard for Ireland in the interest of public safety, effective governance, ease of use & access and other comprehensive justifications. It would also promote a single official address type and related standards for usage, display and visibility, and ensure that all new developments into the future are allocated the new standard address type with no variations accepted. It is my opinion that the chosen address type must identify the primary road access to a property rather than a mathematical geo-centre of a building structure. It is the latter that Eircode designers lazily chose as it was what was already available from the Geodirectory. However, An Post had only ever used the Geodirectory to identify a building rather than indicate how a vehicle or human could get from a public road to it. This is a necessary inherent capability if it is to be relied upon by the emergency services and others. In the UK, the postcode, that is now 50 years old, from the outset recognised that identifying the road from which access is gained was essential. This is also essential if GPS navigation systems are to use an address and related postcode in a useful way. Finally, all structures and locations to which citizens and visitors go should have an address, even though An Post may not deliver mail to them.

 23.   Whilst it is accepted that a process to implement a new standardised address system over a reasonable period of time for existing properties would be required, there is no reason why new standards cannot be immediately applied to the projected 1 million new property units as they are built over the next 30 years.

Conclusions

24.   There would appear to be strong evidence that the Minister for Communications has no statutory authority when it comes to specifying property address types to be used in Ireland. The Minister appears to have overstepped his mandate in this regard and is causing confusion amongst the population. Such confusion may undermine any potential Eircode might have to help save lives.

25.   The introduction of the Eircode postcode, and a related perception amongst the promoters that a fully functioning and standardised National address system is no longer required, seems to have caused multiple non unique addresses to be associated with properties and increased related address ambiguity. Addresses should be precise whether they are used with a postcode or not.

26.   Eircode itself may not have any statutory basis as it does not satisfy the requirements for it as laid down in the Postal Act 2011.

27.   Issues related to the Eircode design in relation to the terms of the Postal Act amendment 2015, raises questions about the Department of Communications’ authority for ECAF/ECAD address databases/registries.

28.   The Minister should therefore reconsider his and his Department’s authority under the Act and the address recommendations he has been making. If he has overstepped his authority as the evidence suggests, he should now refrain from further recommendations and take steps to undo any potential confusion caused.

29.   The case for a National Address agency in Ireland is now stronger and more urgent than ever and the Minister should now move to encourage its establishment. Because of the existing related statutory responsibility and need, it is felt that Minister Coveney, and his Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, must be involved. However, it seems that with the establishment of Tailte éireann within the Department of Justice, Minister Fitzgerald should also be involved and it may be appropriate that the Address Agency be facilitated under her new initiative which is directly related to properties and their related geospatial information. As part of his redressing any address confusion he may have caused, Minister Naughten should now liaise with both Minister Coveney and Minister Fitzgerald to promote a National Address Agency as a matter of urgency.

Annex A

SYNOPSIS OF PROPERTY ADDRESS TYPES CURRENTLY USED IN IRELAND

A single property in Ireland may have many different ambiguous addresses related to it.

Postal Address: Based on NSAI Irish Standard EN 14142-1-2011, ISO Standard 19100 & INSPIRE Directive on Spatial Infrastructure in Europe. This is an address which includes the An Post “Postal Town” name/number where mail is sorted prior to delivery. It will also state other necessary detail which does not have to include a unique property identifier, except by the use of the occupants' family name. The Postal Town may be quite some distance from and unrelated geographically to the actual location of the property. This is the only address which An Post is required to deliver mail to;- as adjudged by the High Court in Oct 2012 and, therefore, identified as the de facto official address system of Ireland. An Post has the right to change a “Postal” address as a result of changes to its sorting operations. As well as making reference to the use of "Postal Town" names/numbers, since the advent of the Eircode property identifier, An Post has started to make reference to "Principal Post Towns" but the exact meaning of this term has not been clarified.

Geographic Address: An address which does not necessarily include the Postal Town name where An Post sorts related mail, but does include locality referenced street, area or townland names which best reflect the actual geographic location of a property. By High Court judgment, An Post are not required to deliver to this type of address, however, the current Minister for Communications, Denis Naughten, told the Irish public in 2016 that they could use it and that the contractors behind the Eircode property identifier should support it also.

Mailing Address: A new type of address recently referred to by An Post which is a “Postal” address with an Eircode postcode added on. In this case for Dublin, the address would include separate reference to the traditional An Post Dublin Postal areas (the required Postal Town) as well as referring to those areas in the Eircode also e.g.:

 DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

29-31 ADELAIDE ROAD

DUBLIN 2

D02 X285

A “Mailing” address has no legal standing like a “Postal” Address. If people want to add an Eircode to a “Postal” Address they are free to do so, but this does not imply that An Post will make any use of it as its only legal requirement is for a “Postal” Address.

Preferred Address: A new address type introduced by contractors involved in the delivery of the Eircode postcode. It means any form of address desired by the user, to include all or parts of all other address types, with optional spelling and language variations also. These, once used, contribute to a new database of "alias" addresses which enhance the offering of those in the business of making money from maintaining and licensing address databases.

AddressPal Address: This is another address type which has been introduced since the advent of Eircode. It is an An Post address system which allows Irish users to use a UK address and UK postcode in order to minimise the high cost of UK companies shipping to Ireland. The high cost for UK companies shipping into Ireland is caused by the fact that Ireland does not have a standardised, unique, predictable and precise addressing system.

Virtual Postal Address: A Northern Irish address and Postcode that Nightline/Parcel Motel registered customers can use, instead of the many other types of Irish addresses, when buying from UK companies who will not deliver to an Irish address. UK companies that do not deliver to an Irish address, make that decision because Ireland does not have a standardised, unique, predictable and precise addressing system.

What3Words (W3W) Address: This is a new addressing system promoted by the contractors behind the Eircode postcode since they were made aware by the logistics community that Eircode was unable to serve their purposes. W3W is a random combination of words which, through the private database of a UK company, can be converted to a geographic location. They are promoted as an alternative to establishing a proper National addressing system. However, visual randomness, spelling, language, interpretation, pronunciation, absence of recognisable geographic clues and the difficulty related to communicating a W3W address verbally make it complicated and unreliable so as to make it a setback rather than a solution for those who adopt it. If adopted, it may also discourage the use of traditional placenames. The limitations of what3ords, especially for emergency response are consider is this article titled "Why what3words is not suitable for safety critical applications"

Google Address: Since signing a contract to support Eircode in its mapping system, Google has started to match Eircodes with its own form of Irish property address. For reasons unspecified, Google does not use “Postal” addresses with Eircode and it, therefore, retrieves address information based on the nearest data in its own database related to the location of the Eircode postcode. A good example is when you enter Eircode D08 XY00 in Google Maps, it gives an address related to St Michael's Close in Merchants Quay, Dublin when, in fact, the correct “Postal” address and related geography is at Winetavern Street, Dublin.

Alias Address: Any combination of any or all of other address types using any language or spelling desired; - all of which contribute to a new database of the many ambiguous addresses possible for one single property. This then can be licensed to users by those who specialise in making a living from creating and maintaining address databases. Its purpose is in trying to resolve the address confusion that encouraging the use of any “Preferred” address type may have created in the first place.

Irish Language Address: An address which is created by translating whatever address type is used into the Irish language and optionally using historic place-name references and spellings that may no longer be in popular use.

Vanity Address: An address which is constructed by judiciously using selected address elements of adjacent properties and their localities, chosen to create the impression that a specific property is in a more desirable, affluent or valuable locality than it actually is. Since the advent of the Eircode, this involves omitting the Eircode which is permitted because when it was introduced by then Minister Pat Rabbitte he stated that the use of Eircode was optional.

Non-Address: An address of a building, structure or location where An Post does not deliver and, therefore, there is no “Postal” Address and no related Eircode postcode. The feature may have people working in it or visiting and the owner/responsible authority may have insurance, mortgage, Health & Safety, Public Safety and employer's medical emergency related responsibilities but, because no mail is delivered by An Post to it, the feature has no official or even alias address. There are thousands of these across Ireland in both rural and urban areas.