549. Deputy Frankie Feighan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he will acknowledge that there is currently a long delay in applications for new houses and commercial buildings for an allocation of an Eircode; and the steps he will take to expedite matters as it means further delay in the provision and delivery of housing. [74152/26]

ellio CX (formally Capita Business Support Services Ireland), trading as Eircode assigns new Eircodes to building addresses using a valid postal address and verified geo-locations. All postal addresses and geo-locations are provided to Eircode from authoritative sources, namely An Post and Tailte Éireann through their subsidiary company An Post GeoDirectory (APG) . An Post collects information on all new and existing buildings, as well as changes to existing addresses, and Tailte Éireann provides the geo-locations for these buildings.

An issue has arisen from the interruption in the provision of verified geographic coordinates by Tailte Éireann, which are an agency under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. APG have informed my officials that certain issues arose within Tailte Éireann that has resulted in a suspension of work in relation to the provision of building geo-locations for Eircodes. These geo-locations are a core element of the Eircode assignment process, without which an Eircode cannot be assigned.

The Minister recognises the importance of the timely allocation of Eircodes for new homes and commercial buildings, and as such had previously reduced the timeframe to assign Eircodes from quarterly to a month basis. Eircodes support a wide range of services, including utility connections, telecommunications services, parcel deliveries, emergency services and other public services. Delays in assignment therefore creates difficulties for citizens and businesses alike.

My Department has been actively engaging with stakeholders on this matter. My officials have written to both APG and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage voicing our concerns regarding the impact of the ongoing interruption and emphasising the importance of restoring normal service as quickly as possible. The Department has also formally raised its concerns with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation regarding the urgency of restoring normal service.

My Department will continue to closely monitor developments and engage with all relevant stakeholders to support the earliest possible return of normal Eircode assignment processes.