Ireland is scheduled to introduce a postal code system called Eircode in the spring of 2015. The seven-digit code will be unique to each mailing address.

The website www.eircode.ie said: “An Eircode will identify an individual address — rural or urban — and help show exactly where it is located, unlike other countries, where postcodes define clusters or groups of addresses. It is much more than just a postcode. It is a smart location code for all Irish addresses.”

The code will be a three-digit (letters and numbers) routing key followed by a four-digit unique identifier.

Eircode is also the name of the business that will design, promote and maintain the new system.