A farmer in Co. Kerry has called for the Eircode system to be extended to include standalone farm buildings on health and safety grounds.

Dinny Galvin, a dairy farmer from Lispole in west Kerry, told Agriland of his unsuccessful attempt to obtain an Eircode for his farm building.

Through his work with the Dingle Hub, Dinny has hosted many events on his dairy farm, including visits from Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and representatives from the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU).

"I've had everyone on my farm, but I can never give them an Eircode to actually go to the farm because the farm is separate from my house," he said.

Galvin contacted GeoDirectory, which assigns buildings with precise postal and geographic addresses, to request an Eircode for his farm.

However, the farmer said he was told he would need a postbox on the farm and for somebody to be on the premises in order to obtain an Eircode.

"Why I am any different to any other business?" Galvin asked.

The farmer also said that getting fibre optic broadband to the farm building is not possible without an Eircode.

With the recent cold snap, Dinny said that this issue "really came into his mind" as a health and safety concern.

"If you have farm buildings out on their own and you need to get an ambulance or paramedics, you need an Eircode.

"We've had so many stories of ambulances going wrong in the countryside. You can give directions but there's crossroads, there's byroads and lay-bys. It's very easy to get lost," he said.

"An Eircode is something that's important, and especially in Kerry with the last week because you've had all this snow and there's been people isolated.

"Every building whether its manned or not, if it's a standalone building or an old shed, they should all have an Eircode," Galvin added.

Eircode, Ireland's national postcode system, comes under the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

A spokesperson for the department told Agriland that "Capita Business Support Services Ireland, trading as Eircode, assigns Eircodes to new property addresses using a valid postal address and verified geo-locations".

"An Post GeoDirectory (APG), a subsidiary company of An Post and Tailte Éireann, issue a new release of database files monthly to Capita in accordance with their revised licence agreement," they added.

The spokesperson said that in order for an Eircode to be assigned to a property it must be in receipt of post and have the following three core elements included in the An Post database as part of the address:

At least two lines of the postal address;
A principal post town;
Geographic coordinates.

"In relation to having an address added to the An Post database, the homeowner can make direct contact with An Post customer service," the spokesperson said.

"Operational matters and commercial decisions of private commercial operators such as broadband providers, including the updating of databases, are a matter for these commercial operators directly and one in which the department has no direct function," they added.

The department said that in October 2017 a new emergency mobile phone location service was launched that "greatly assists the emergency services in determining the location of people in need that call 999 or 112".

"The phone sends the location in the background by way of a text message to the Emergency Call Answering Service when an emergency call is made.

"The coordinates are available to the emergency services in responding and dispatching emergency personnel to callers in need across Ireland.

"Approximately 65% of emergency calls from mobile devices have AML data and it is of vital assistance to Emergency Services," the spokesperson said.