EIRCODE ADDRESS DATABASE PRODUCT GUIDE EDITION 2, VERSION 13. coadm. Edition 2, Version 13

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coadm

Edition 2, Version 13

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Using the ECAD Product Guide

Introduction

This is the product guide to the Eircode Address Database (ECAD) data product. This guide provides software programmers and database administrators’ information required to incorporate ECAD data into their IT systems and is supported by sample data available on request to [email protected]

The Code of Practice available at www.eircode.ie and outlines the acceptable usage of Eircodes.

1. General Information

The information in this section covers the following topics:

 The structure of an Eircode

 The unique challenges of addressing in Ireland

 How Eircodes are assigned

 Recommendation for storage and presentation

 Describes the ECAD data product

 Describes how Irish language is integrated into the ECAD

 Describes the nature of the Postal Address in the ECAD 2. Advanced Topics

This section provides more detail on certain technical aspects of ECAD.

 How to use alias information

 Spatial data and other data within the ECAD

 Information concerning address validation

 How to perform sample ECAD queries

3. Data Provision and Updates

This section covers the following topics:

 Data supply format and options for receiving updates

 Business process considerations

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4. Appendices

This section contains the following Appendices:

 Appendix 1 – ECAD Tables

This appendix provides a list and detailed specification of all files provided as part of the ECAD data provision

 Appendix 2 – Postal Address View

This appendix provides details of how to create the Postal Address View from the ECAD information

 Appendix 3 – Geographic Address View

This appendix provides details of how to create the Geographic Address View from the ECAD information

Changes in the ECAD Product Guide version 2.13

 NACE Codes

NACE Code information is now populated in the Q120 release in the following fields:

ORGANISATION_INFO.NACE_CODE ORGANISATION_INFO.NACE_CATEGORY Previously these fields were blank.

Please note the NACE_CATEGORY field width will need to be increased from the previously advised 100 to 200.

Tables affected: ORGANISATION_INFO.

 Spatial Accuracy

Spatial Accuracy information is now populated for Level 1 and 2 in the Q120 release in the following field:

SPATIAL_INFO.SPATIAL_ACCURACY

The spatial accuracy level descriptions can be seen in section 2.2.1.1 of this product guide. Previously Level 1, 2 and 3 were all given the value of 3.

Tables affected: SPATIAL_INFO.

 Holiday Home

Holiday Home information is now populated in the Q120 release in the following field:

BULDING_INFO.HOLIDAY_HOME Previously the field was blank.

Tables affected: BUILDING_INFO.

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 Created Date

Created Date information that predates the first release of the ECAD (Q414) is now available in the Q120 release. This results in earlier CREATED_DATE information for records in the BUILDING table.

Tables affected: BUILDING.

 Postal Information

An Post provide services, described on their website anpost.com, that may make use of PostAim, Pre-Sort and Publicity Post Zones information if tagged onto an address.

This information is available in the Q120 release in a new table that is defined in section 4.1 of this document.

The POSTAL_INFO.dat file is included in the Full Release file, and the POSTAL_INFO_INSERT.dat file is provided in the Update Only files. In Q120 both files are identical.

Tables affected: POSTAL_INFO

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1. General Information

1.1 Background

In July 2015 all 2.2 million residential and business addresses in Ireland received a letter notifying them of the Eircode for their address. Eircode is a public database of unique identifiers for all properties in Ireland that assists citizens, businesses and public bodies to locate every individual address in the country.

Unlike other countries, where postcodes define clusters or groups of addresses, an Eircode identifies an individual address – rural or urban - and shows exactly where it is located. An Eircode is much more than just a postcode; it is a smart location code for all Irish addresses.

People and businesses do not need to change their address; they just add the Eircode to the end of their current address. The use of Eircode is not mandatory on mail, but many organisations and businesses ask people to provide their Eircode as a normal part of doing business (e.g. to capture address details faster and more accurately, to improve delivery accuracy).

1.2 What is an Eircode?

An Eircode is a smart location codes for all Irish addresses. An Eircode is assigned to every residential and business address in Ireland that receives post, as defined by the Universal Service Provider for postal services in Ireland. Throughout this document the term “Postal Address” always refers to a delivery address as defined by Irish Standard - I.S. EN 14142- 1:2011 (Postal services. Address databases), as operated by the Universal Service Provider, An Post.

One or more Eircodes are assigned per building depending on the number of unique addresses within the building. For multi-occupancy residential premises, each individual address, e.g. “Apartment 1” receives its own Eircode. For multi-occupancy business premises, unique address information is required, e.g. “Unit 1”, otherwise the businesses are assigned the same Eircode.

For multi-occupancy mixed use buildings, Eircodes are not shared between residential and non-residential addresses. The only exception to this rule is where the entire address is both residential and non-residential, e.g. a farm house.

1.3 Who supplies Eircode?

Eircode (the company), part of Capita Business Support Services (Ireland) Ltd, is the Postcode Management Licence Holder (PMLH) and were awarded the government licence to design, launch and manage a postcode system for Ireland. This included the design and assignment of the postcode – now called “Eircode”.

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This Eircode data is available to external organisations in two forms: a basic version Eircode Address File (ECAF) and a richer version with more data elements Eircode Address Database (ECAD) which is described in this document.

Software applications are available from third party suppliers who provide a variety of products and services using Eircode data.

Find out more about the range of products and services available www.eircode.ie 1.4 Sources of Data

The source data is supplied by the following:

 Alias information: Eircode

 Administrative information: Ordnance Survey Ireland via https://data.gov.ie

 All Other Information: An Post GeoDirectory Limited, which sources information from Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Placenames Branch (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) and the Universal Service Provider for postal services in Ireland, An Post.

1.5 Addressing in Ireland

Ireland has a number of unique challenges when it comes to addressing. Firstly, people in the same street, townland, apartment building, etc. may write their addresses in very different ways. This arises for reasons of; local common naming conventions, historical reasons, variations in spelling (notably anglicised versions of Gaelic names) and vanity addressing.

An Post, the Universal Service Provider, has prompted postal users to use the addressing format required to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of the postal service. Their addressing guides comply with the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) (the United Nations body responsible for promoting standards in the postal industry across the World) addressing guidelines. The postal address as defined by Irish Standard - I.S. EN 14142-1:2011 (Postal services. Address databases), as operated by the Universal Service Provider, An Post,, is the format used in the ECAD.

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However, the various ways that people record their own address may differ from the Postal Address. The following examples of the same address and the different ways in which it can be recorded illustrate the problem.

Example:

42 Woodbrook Glen 42 Woodbrook Glen 42 Woodbrook Glen

Diswellstown Rd Riverwood Road Carpenterstown

Clonsilla Castleknock Dublin 15

Dublin 15 Dublin 15

In 2.1 we discuss how alias information available in the ECAD can be used to mitigate this problem. 2.3 describes how the allocation of Eircodes to addresses follows a methodology designed to optimise address verification.

Ireland has a very high level of non-unique addresses (NUA), i.e. the address does not contain a unique building number or name. Approximately 35% of all Irish addresses are non-unique which equates to 600,000 addresses.

The typical example of NUA addressing is where every address in a townland is the same.

The way that post is delivered is by local knowledge of postal delivery personnel of which addressee lives in which house.

N.B. For a NUA address, it is impossible to match to a unique record in the ECAD and assign an Eircode.

We can clearly see the issue below where four separate houses in a townland have the same address, but a different Eircode. Knowing the address isn’t sufficient information to determine the Eircode.

Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Address 4

Ballinroamin Ballinroamin Ballinroamin Ballinroamin

Holycross Holycross Holycross Holycross

Tipperary Tipperary Tipperary Tipperary

A65 TF12 A65 DE34 A65 TA33 A65 HN88

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1.6 Eircode Structure and Presentation

An Eircode is a seven-character postcode consisting of two elements:

1. Three-character Routing Key 2. Four-character Unique Identifier

1.6.1 Recommendations for Storage and Presentation

 An Eircode should always be stored as a single string of seven upper case characters in IT systems, i.e. A65F4E2.

 An Eircode should always be presented in upper case as two parts separated by a space, on stationary, mail items, computer forms, etc. i.e. A65 F4E2 and never A65F4E2.

1.6.2 Routing Key

The Routing Key is the first part of an Eircode and is consistently three characters long. The Universal Service Provider identified principal post towns through which mail is distributed and Eircode assigned Routing Key codes to those principal post towns. The Routing Key format is Letter-Number-Number with the single exception of D6W for the Dublin 6W postal district.

The existing Dublin Postal Districts 1 to 24 have been retained as D01 to D24. The Routing Key letter and numbers assigned to the remainder of the 139 Routing Keys are not directly linked to counties, towns or any other geographic boundaries. A Routing Key will be shared by many properties in an area. Routing keys are fixed once assigned to an address and do not change.

1.6.3 Unique Identifier

The Unique Identifier is the second part of an Eircode and consistently comprises four characters. The Unique Identifier is unique within each Routing Key, but not across Routing Keys. Unique Identifiers are not assigned in any sequence order, nor is there any hierarchical grouping information contained in the Unique Identifier. Unique Identifiers are fixed once generated for an Eircode, and are only retired if there is a change of building use, e.g. A Georgian House is converted into a block of apartments.

The Unique Identifier has the same allowable characters in each position, twenty five characters in total defined from the following available list of numbers and letters:

6

Number

5

Number*

4

Alpha- Numeric

A

Letter

F

Alpha- Numeric

E

Alpha- Numeric

2

Alpha- Numeric

* “W” allowed for only in D6W

Routing Key Unique Identifier

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NUMBERS: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

LETTERS: A,C,D,E,F,H,K,N,P,R,T,V,W,X,Y

This provides 25 x 25 x 25 x 25 possible combinations, which allows a maximum of 390,625 Eircodes per Routing Key.

1.6.4 Character Set

The characters allowed in each position in an Eircode are as below:

Component Position Allowed Characters

Routing Key 1 A,C,D,E,F,H,K,N,P,R,T,V,W,X,Y

2 0-9

3 0-9 with the exception of W for D6W Unique Identifier 4 0-9 and A,C,D,E,F,H,K,N,P,R,T,V,W,X,Y

5 6 7

1.7 Eircode Address Database (ECAD)

The ECAF contains the base reference data for over 2 million Irish addresses and is a prerequisite to the purchase of the ECAD. The ECAD contains additional data for each address. For ease of use the two products are delivered in a relational database. The ECAD contains no software; the data within it must be processed for use in IT applications.

The ECAD is comprised of a number of database tables. The tables are divided into a number of categories based on the role they perform within the database. The categories are:

 Address – Contains the information that is used to make up an address

 Alias – Provides information on address alias information

 Lookup – Contains lookup information that has been normalised into separate tables

 Information – Holds non address information related to the Address Tables

 History – Provides detail of retired address records and their related Eircodes

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The tables in the ECAD are described in more detail below (detailed table definition for each table is available in Appendix 1.)

1.7.1 Address Tables

The following is the list of tables that contain the address information stored in the ECAD:

Address Group Address Table

Premises Tables ORGANISATION

SUB_ADDRESS_POINT ADDRESS_POINT BUILDINGS

Thoroughfare Tables BUILDING_GROUP THOROUGHFARE Locality Tables LOCALITY

POST_TOWN COUNTY

Address POSTAL_ADDRESS

GEOGRAPHIC_ADDRESS

The address information stored in these tables is stored in upper case only for English and Irish versions of the address element. Provision has been made to receive Official Irish language versions (Type 3 and 4) in the future, which uses mixed case for Irish versions of the address where required. Address elements always have an associated address type that is stored in the ADDRESS_TYPE Lookup Table.

Address

ORGANISATION SUB_ADDRESS_POINT ADDRESS_POINT BUILDING BUILDING_GROUP THOROUGHFARE LOCALITY POST_TOWN COUNTY POSTAL_ADDRESS GEOGRAPHIC_ADDRESS

Alias

ALIAS_TYPE ORGANISATION_ALIAS ADDRESS_POINT_ALIAS BUILDING_ALIAS BUILDING_GROUP_ALIA S

THOROUGHFARE_ALIAS LOCALITY_ALIAS POST_TOWN_ALIAS COUNTY_ALIAS

Lookup

ADDRESS_TYPE BUILDING_TYPE DESCRIPTOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALIFIER IRISH_VERFICATION ROUTING_KEY GEODIRECTORY_LOOKU P

Information

SPATIAL_INFO BUILDING_INFO ORGANISATION_INFO ADMINISTRATIVE_INFO

History

HISTORY_DETAIL HISTORY_POSTAL_ADDR ESS

HISTORY_TYPE

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The Entity Relationship Diagram for Address Tables is shown below, and the tables are described in the following sections.

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BUILDING

A record in the BUILDING table generally refers to a permanent physical building, however some records may refer to other entities, e.g. a halting site bay. The BUILDING table is the central hub of the Address Tables, defining the thoroughfare and locality elements of a building. A locality may cross county boundaries, or a thoroughfare may cross multiple post towns, therefore the post town or county information resides solely at the building level.

ADDRESS TYPE Description Single Occupancy

Residential Building

This type of building contains one residential address.

Multi Occupancy Residential Building

This type of building contains multiple residential addresses.

Single Occupancy Non- Residential Building

This type of building contains one non-residential address (business, club or other organisation).

Multi Occupancy Non- Residential Building

This type of building contains multiple non-residential addresses (business, club or other organisation).

Multi Occupancy Mixed Use Building

This type of building contains multiple residential and non- residential addresses.

Buildings can also have a more specific address types such as a Hospital, School, Shopping Centre, etc.

BUILDING_GEOGRAPHIC

There is a one-to-one relationship between the BUILDING_GEOGRAPHIC table and the BUILDING table, joining on BUILDING_ID. The BUILDING_GEOGRAPHIC effectively contains replacement values for the BUILDING table if you wish to create GEOGRAPHIC addresses rather than POSTAL addresses.

ADDRESS_POINT

An address point record exists for every unique address within a building. A standard residential property will have one address point. Apartment buildings and multi-unit commercial buildings will have one address point for every unique address within the building.

Eircodes are assigned at the address point level and reside in the ADDRESS_POINT table.

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There are a number of address points that do not have an associated Eircode. The primary reason is some buildings do not receive a direct delivery of mail by the Universal Service Provider. In these cases mail is generally delivered centrally and distributed to each building by internal mail processes, e.g. a University Campus.

For an Eircode to be assigned, a building must receive a direct delivery of post, have a Routing Key, and a verified coordinate. When the BUILDING table STATUS field has a value of 2 this indicates the building does not get a direct delivery of post. Buildings without a Routing Key have STATUS = 3. If a building has a STATUS = 1 but does not have a verified coordinate then no Eircode is assigned. Only addresses with Eircodes are included in the Postal Address table. It is expected, but not guaranteed, that addresses in a STATUS=1 or 3 building that do not receive an Eircode in the release they are introduced would be updated in the next release with the required information to assign an Eircode.

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Address points can be one of the following address types:

ADDRESS TYPE Description

Residential Address Point This type of address point has one residential addresses associated with it.

Non-Residential Address Point This type of address point has one or more non-residential address (business, club or other organisation) associated with it.

Mixed Address Point This is a special case where the residential and non residential addresses in the building are essentially the same address. The typical example is a farm house on an active farm.

It is important to note that this is a special case. In general a building with both residential and non-residential addresses (e.g. an apartment over a shop) will receive two address points, one commercial and one residential, and hence two Eircodes.

Buildings can contain multiple address points of type Residential and/or Non-Residential.

SUB_ADDRESS_POINT

A sub address point is an address within a building that has no underlying address information.

This information indicates that there are multiple flats within a building without discrete addresses (e.g. without Flat 1, Flat 2, etc. indicators). These records are inserted into the SUB_ADDRESS_POINT table to indicate their existence. The address point associated with the records is generally of type Residential Address Point, but can also be associated with type Non-Residential Address Point. The SUB_ADDRESS_POINT records are never used to generate a Postal Address and can be ignored for most purposes.

If a building had one postal address and 5 sub address points, there would be five records in table SUB_ADDRESS_POINT and each would have the ADDRESS_POINT_ID of the parent address point, ie. The one associated with the postal address.

ORGANISATION

The ORGANISATION table contains a record for every non-residential address in the ECAD.

The organisation name is present unless the address is vacant or the organisation name is unknown in the case of organisations associated with Non-Residential Address Point. For Mixed Address Points, there is always a reference in the Organisation table and the organisation name is always null.

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BUILDING_GROUP

A building group is a collection of buildings with a collective name, located on or near the same thoroughfare.

Building groups can be one of the following generic address types:

Residential Building Group This type of building group contains buildings with residential addresses only.

Non-Residential Building Group This type of building group contains buildings with non-residential addresses (business, club or other organisation) only.

Mixed Building Group This type of building group contains buildings with residential and non-residential addresses.

Building groups can also have a more specific address type such as a Hospital, School, Shopping Centre, etc.

THOROUGHFARE

Thoroughfares generally refer to the street, road, avenue, etc. on which a building resides.

The BUILDINGS table has a reference to both PRIMARY and SECONDARY thoroughfares (if populated), which both reference this THOROUGHFARE table.

LOCALITY

A locality refers to areas, districts, towns, etc. and is generally one of the following address types:

Rural Locality This is generally a townland.

Industrial Estate Industrial Estate, Industrial Park, Business Campus, etc.

Shopping District Shopping Centre.

Housing Estate Residential Housing Estate.

Village Based on Census 2011 population < 1,500.

Town Based on Census 2011 population > 1,500.

Urban Area Wholly within a village/town/city e.g.

Rathmines.

Suburban Locality This is an area that is both rural and urban, as it is both a townland, and also an area name applied to houses in a town, as the town has extended partially into the townland.

The BUILDINGS table has a reference to PRIMARY and SECONDARY localities (if populated), which all reference this LOCALITY table.

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All records in the POST_TOWN table are duplicated in the LOCALITY table, where the LOCALITY_ID in the LOCALITY table is equal to the POST_TOWN_ID in the POST_TOWN table. These LOCALITY records have one of the following address types:

Village Based on Census 2011 population < 1,500 Town Based on Census 2011 population > 1,500

Postal District Dublin 1 to 24

City Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway or Waterford

POST_TOWN

The POST_TOWN table contains a record for every post town in the ECAD. The post town is a significant element of the Postal Address, however it is not always populated in an address.

The official post office guide, Eolaí an Phoist¹, describes post towns in the following manner;

“A provincial postal address may include the name of a town or village several miles distant, with which the addressee has little or no connection, and, in some places, especially if this residence happens to be near a county boundary, the name of the neighbouring county instead of the county in which he actually resides. The explanation is that the main mail despatches have to be sent for more detailed sub division to certain centres known as POST TOWNS, chosen because of their accessibility and convenience.”

The POST TOWN record always has an address type of post town.

COUNTY

The COUNTY table contains a row for each of the 26 counties in Ireland.

A COUNTY record always has an address type of County.

1 Ireland. Eolaí an phoist: Post office guide. Dublin

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POSTAL_ADDRESS

The POSTAL ADDRESS Table contains a row for every Postal Address in the ECAD. It contains the following fields:

POSTAL_ADDRESS field ECAD_ID

ORGANISATION_ID ADDRESS_POINT_ID BUILDING_ID

BUILDING_GROUP_ID

PRIMARY_THOROUGHFARE_ID SECONDARY_THOROUGHFARE_ID PRIMARY_LOCALITY_ID

SECONDARY_LOCALITY_ID POST_TOWN_ID

POST_COUNTY_ID EIRCODE

NUA

GAELTACHT ADDR_LINE_1 ADDR_LINE_2 ADDR_LINE_3 ADDR_LINE_4 ADDR_LINE_5 ADDR_LINE_6 ADDR_LINE_7 ADDR_LINE_8 ADDR_LINE_9

IRISH_ADDR_LINE_1 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_2 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_3 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_4 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_5 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_6 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_7 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_8 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_9 ADDRESS_REFERENCE

An ECAD_ID referred to in the POSTAL_ADDRESS table is either the ORGANISATION_ID if it is not Null, or the ADDRESS_POINT_ID which is never Null. ECAD_ID is simply a generic name that covers all of the primary keys in the address tables (ORGANISATION_ID,

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ADDRESS_POINT_ID, BUILDING_ID, BUILDING_GROUP_ID, etc.) and allows joining to the various _INFO table.

You don’t join the ECAD_ID in the POSTAL_ADDRESS table to any of the _INFO tables, you use the appropriate ID. For example to get coordinates you join to the SPATIAL_INFO table on POSTAL_ADDRESS.BUILDING_ID = SPATIAL_INFO.ECAD_ID.

The individual address elements (i.e. BUILDING_ID, THOROUGHFARE_ID, etc.) make up the address lines. Some address elements are combined for an address line (e.g. Building Number and Thoroughfare Name). Address creation rules have been applied to create Address Line 1-8 in both English and Irish. The final line in every Postal Address in the table is the Eircode. For inbound international mail the country name IRELAND should be appended as the last line of the Postal Address.

The NUA field contains a Y value when the address is a non-unique address, and N when it is a unique address.

The GAELTACHT field contains a Y value when the address is in a Gaeltacht area, and N when it is isn’t.

The ADDRESS_REFERENCE is the An Post GeoDirectory address reference identifier used by the Universal Service Provider.

GEOGRAPHIC_ADDRESS

The GEOGRAPHIC ADDRESS Table contains a row for every Geographic Address in the ECAD. It contains the following fields:

GEOGRAPHIC_ADDRESS field ECAD_ID

ORGANISATION_ID ADDRESS_POINT_ID BUILDING_ID

BUILDING_GROUP_ID

PRIMARY_THOROUGHFARE_ID SECONDARY_THOROUGHFARE_ID PRIMARY_LOCALITY_ID

SECONDARY_LOCALITY_ID POST_TOWN_ID

POST_COUNTY_ID EIRCODE

NUA

GAELTACHT ADDR_LINE_1 ADDR_LINE_2 ADDR_LINE_3 ADDR_LINE_4

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ADDR_LINE_5 ADDR_LINE_6 ADDR_LINE_7 ADDR_LINE_8 ADDR_LINE_9

IRISH_ADDR_LINE_1 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_2 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_3 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_4 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_5 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_6 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_7 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_8 IRISH_ADDR_LINE_9 ADDRESS_REFERENCE

An ECAD_ID referred to in the GEOGRAPHIC_ADDRESS table is either the ORGANISATION_ID if it is not Null, or the ADDRESS_POINT_ID which is never Null.

ECAD_ID is simply a generic name that covers all of the primary keys in the address tables (ORGANISATION_ID, ADDRESS_POINT_ID, BUILDING_ID, BUILDING_GROUP_ID, etc.) and allows joining to the various _INFO table.

You don’t join the ECAD_ID in the GEOGRAPHIC _ADDRESS table to any of the _INFO tables, you use the appropriate ID. For example to get coordinates you join to the SPATIAL_INFO table on POSTAL_ADDRESS.BUILDING_ID = SPATIAL_INFO.ECAD_ID.

The individual address elements (i.e. BUILDING_ID, THOROUGHFARE_ID, etc.) make up the address lines. Some address elements are combined for an address line (e.g. Building Number and Thoroughfare Name). Address creation rules have been applied to create Address Line 1-8 in both English and Irish. The final line in every Geographic Address in the table is the Eircode.

The NUA field contains a Y value when the address is a non-unique address, and N when it is a unique address.

The GAELTACHT field contains a Y value when the address is in a Gaeltacht area, and N when it is isn’t.

The ADDRESS_REFERENCE is the An Post GeoDirectory address reference identifier used by the Universal Service Provider.

1.7.2 Lookup Tables

The Lookup Tables are used to tie together the Address Tables. They have been created when the Address Tables were normalised. The Lookup Tables are as follows:

 ADDRESS_TYPE

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 BUILDING_TYPE

 DESCRIPTOR

 GEOGRAPHIC

 QUALIFIER

 IRISH_VERIFICATION

 ROUTING_KEY

 GEODIRECTORY_LOOKUP ADDRESS_TYPE

This table contains one record for each Address Type. Address Types categorise addresses.

The address type is a field in every Address Table and thus allows for addresses to be consistently queried.

For example a BUILDING, a BUILDING GROUP or a LOCALITY may all have an Address Type of “Industrial Estate”. The Address Type of a BUILDING has a bearing on what other information is available for an address. For example if a building has an address type of SINGLE OCCUPANCY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING this means that there will be no entries in the ORGANISATION table for that building. All Address Tables contain an ADDRESS_TYPE_ID that references the ADDRESS_TYPE table.

BUILDING_TYPE

The BUILDING_TYPE table contains one record for each building type, e.g. Detached, Terraced, etc. The BUILDING_INFO table contains a BUILDING_TYPE_ID that references the BUILDING_TYPE table.

DESCRIPTOR

This table contains one record for each Descriptor. A Descriptor is the part of a thoroughfare or building group address such as the examples below.

NAME Irish Name

AVENUE ASCAILL

GROVE GARRÁN

STREET SRÁID

ROAD BÓTHAR

GEOGRAPHIC

This table contains one record for each Geographic. A geographic element is North, South, East or West, which can be appended or prepended to an address element.

Name Irish Name

EAST THOIR

NORTH THUAIDH

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SOUTH THEAS

WEST THIAR

QUALIFIER

This table contains one record for each Qualifier. Qualifiers are appended of prepended to address elements, and are listed in the table below.

NAME Irish Name

EXTENSION SÍNEADH

GREAT MHÓR

LITTLE BHEAG

LOWER ÍOCHTARACH

MIDDLE LÁIR

UPPER UACHTARACH

For the BUILDING_GROUP, THOROUGHFARE and LOCALITY tables the DESCRIPTOR_ID, QUALIFIER_ID and GEOGRAPHIC_ID fields are deconstructed from the NAME and NAME_IRISH fields. The tables also contain a variation of the following two fields (THOROUGHFARES table used as an example).

THOROUGHFARE_NAME

The element of NAME that remains after Descriptor, Qualifier and Geographic elements have been removed.

THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH

Same as THOROUGHFARE_NAME but using NAME_IRISH.

THOROUGHFARE Example 1 Example 2

NAME ABBEY STREET

MIDDLE O'CONNELL STREET

LOWER

NAME_IRISH SRÁID NA

MAINISTREACH LÁIR

SRÁID UÍ CHONAILL ÍOCHTARACH

THOROUGHFARE_NAME ABBEY O'CONNELL

THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH NA MAINISTREACH UÍ CHONAILL

As the NAME field contains these elements in a variety of order permutations, it is not possible to re-create the NAME or NAME_IRISH fields in their original order. Please note that the aim of THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH field is to assist parsing of address elements only, not to create syntactically correct Irish, as evidenced by the examples above.

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IRISH_VERIFICATION

All Address Tables contain a field called NAME, this contains the English language version for the address element. Each table also contains a NAME_IRISH field which contains the equivalent address element in Irish.

Each Address Table also contains an IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID field. This field denotes the validation status of the Irish language address element. This information is stored in the IRISH_VERIFICATION table as displayed;

IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID VALIDATION_LIFECYCLE

0 NO IRISH - ENGLISH USED

1 EIRCODE TRANSLATION²

2 UNOFFICAL TRANSLATION

3 OFFICIAL IRISH LANGUAGE VERSION

4 LEGAL OFFICIAL IRISH LANGUAGE VERSION

The Irish Validation lifecycle gives the developer the option of choosing the Irish language version where the validation level is appropriately high. Irish language versions of placenames are determined by The Placenames Branch (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) and given legal status by means of a placenames order signed by the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They are published on www.logainm.ie, developed by Fiontar, DCU. This research is generally undertaken on a County by County basis, with translations moving from official Irish language versions of placenames to legal status when the entire County has been completed and the appropriate Government order enacted.

It is planned that the official Irish language version provided by The Placenames Branch will replace the current unofficial translations provided by GeoDirectory.

ROUTING_KEY

The Routing Key is the first part of an Eircode and is consistently three characters long.

Routing Keys are defined by the Universal Service Provider for postal services which reflect the sortation requirements of the mail distribution network. The Routing Key format is Letter- Number-Number with the single exception of D6W for the Dublin 6W postal district. The existing Dublin Postal Districts 1 to 24 have been retained as D01 to D24. The Routing Key

2 In a small number of cases Eircode has generated a translation without recourse to official sources. These generally apply to simple lookup table entries (e.g. East, West, etc.). Eircode plan to have these translations verified, but do not expect the values to change.

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letters and number assigned to the remainder of the 139 Routing Keys are not directly linked to counties, towns or any other geographic boundaries. A Routing Key will be shared by many properties in an area. Routing keys are fixed once assigned to an Eircode and do not change.

The BUILDING table contains a ROUTING_KEY_ID column that links to the ROUTING_KEY table which contains 139 Routing Key Names (e.g. D01, Y14, etc.).

GEODIRECTORY_LOOKUP

For users of GeoDirectory, this table provides a lookup to determine the relevant GeoDirectory GEO_ID for each Eircode ECAD_ID as illustrated by the sample rows below.

GEODIRECTORY_LOOKU P_ID

ECAD_ID GEO_ID ECAD_TABLE GEO_TABLE

1 10005481

85

366505 20

ADDRESS_POI NT

2 10005481

86

366505 21

ORGANISATIO N

ADDRESS_POI NT

3 10005481

87

366505 22

ADDRESS_POI NT

BUILDINGS

4 10005481

88

366505 23

BUILDING BUILDINGS

Similarly, you can also look up the relevant ECAD_ID if you have an existing GeoDirectory GEO_ID. If you have a GeoDirectory ADDRESS_POINT_ID this will point to either an ECAD ADDRESS_POINT_ID or an ORGANISATION_ID which will both allow you to determine the Eircode for the GeoDirectory ADDRESS_POINT_ID.

If you have an existing GeoDirectory BUILDING_ID this will point to either an ECAD ADDRESS_POINT_ID or a BUILDING_ID or both. If the Building has only one Address Point (and therefore only one Eircode) we also provide the ADDRESS_POINT_ID reference to allow you to determine the Eircode. If the Building has more than one Address Point (and thus we can’t tell you the Eircode for the building as it has many) then we only provide the ECAD BUILDING_ID.

1.7.3 Information Tables

The information tables provide extra information that adds value to the addresses.

INFORMATION TABLES SPATIAL_INFO

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BUILDING_INFO ORGANISATION_INFO ADMINISTRATIVE_INFO POSTAL_INFO

SPATIAL_INFO

The SPATIAL_INFO table contains spatial data. This data includes map coordinates of buildings and also the extents of non-buildings, e.g. Town, Thoroughfare. The spatial information is provided in a number of coordinate formats. The SPATIAL_INFO table is described in detail in section 2.2.1 of this document. This table links to all Address Tables at BUILDING level and below.

BUILDING_INFO

The BUILDING_INFO table contains extra information about buildings such as if it is under construction or vacant. This links to the BUILDING table.

ORGANISATION_INFO

The ORGANISATION_INFO table contains extra information about an Organisation. The ORGANISATION_INFO is explained in detail in section 2.2.3 of this document.

ADMINISTRATIVE_INFO

The ADMINISTRATIVE_INFO table contains information that is useful from a governmental and local administration perspective. It includes census and other boundary information. The ADMINISTRATIVE_INFO is explained in detail in section 2.2.4 of this document.

These tables are described in detail in section 2.2.

POSTAL_INFO

The POSTAL_INFO table contains information about buildings that relate to An Post services.

Each building is tagged with PostAim, Pre-Sort and Publicity Post Zone information. This links to the BUILDING table.

1.7.4 Alias Tables

There is an alias table for each of the Address Tables as listed in the table below:

ADDRESS GROUP ALIAS TABLE

Premises Tables ORGANISATION_ALIAS ADDRESS_POINT_ALIAS BUILDINGS_ALIAS

Thoroughfare Tables BUILDING_GROUP_ALIAS THOROUGHFARE_ALIAS Locality Tables LOCALITY_ALIAS

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POST_TOWN_ALIAS COUNTY_ALIAS

Aliases fall into the following categories:

1. Common Misspelling

Either English or Irish common misspellings of an address element. The address element should be corrected to the proper spelling.

2. Alternative Spelling

Alternative spelling of an address element. The address element does not need to be corrected to the proper spelling.

3. Alternative Format

The address is commonly written in a different format to the Postal Address.

4. Alternative Format and Spelling

The address element has an alternative spelling, but only when written in a different format to the Postal Address.

For a more in depth description of Aliases see section 2.1 How to use Alias Information.

1.7.5 History Tables

History tables provide detail of retired ECAD records. There are three HISTORY tables in ECAD as follows:

 HISTORY_TYPE

This table stores the reason that the ECAD record has been removed from the database. In the Q315 release the HISTORY Types are as follows:

 DEMOLISHED

The building has been demolished

 DERELICT

The building has been marked as derelict.

 CHANGED EIRCODE

The original Eircode for a building has changed.

 DUPLICATE

The ECAD_ID for an address element has been merged with another ECAD_ID.

 GEODIRECTORY UPDATE

Where a record has been retired due to updated source data from GeoDirectory, and the update is believed to be correct, but not caused by a building being marked as demolished or derelict then the HISTORY TYPE is GEODIRECTORY UPDATE.

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 GEODIRECTORY ERROR

Where a record has been retired due to updated source data that corrects previous source data errors from GeoDirectory then the HISTORY TYPE is GEODIRECTORY ERROR

 HISTORY_DETAIL

This table contains the following fields:

ECAD_ID Unique Identifier that is no longer in ECAD.

TABLE_NAME The table that the record has been removed from, e.g. BUILDING HISTORY_TYPE_ID The reason as defined in the

HISTORY_TYPE table.

EIRCODE If a record is associated with an Eircode it is filled in. If you are looking for retired Eircodes only then non-null values in this column where

TABLE_NAME = ‘ADDRESS_POINT’

will yield the result.

BUILDING_ID This is completed is the TABLE_NAME is ADDRESS_POINT or

ORGANISATION

NEW_ECAD_ID If the record has been merged, or a replacement record has been issued (e.g. Changed Eircodes)

HISTORY_ETRS89_LAT The Latitude of the retired ECAD_ID HISTORY_ETRS89_LONG The Longitude of the retired ECAD_ID HISTORY_SOURCE Comment (if any) supplied by ECAD

Maintenance Team.

 HISTORY_POSTAL_ADDRESS

The complete POSTAL_ADDRESS records that were attached to retired BUILDING records.

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1.8 How Irish language is Integrated

The ECAD is bilingual by design. Every ECAD table that contains address fields has both English and Irish language versions side by side.

All Address Tables contain a field called NAME, this contains the English language version for the address element. Each table also contains a NAME_IRISH field which contains the equivalent address element in Irish.

Each Address Table contains an IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID field. This field denotes the validation status of the Irish language address element. This information is stored in the IRISH_VERIFICATION table as displayed below:

IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID VALIDATION_LIFECYCLE

0 NO IRISH - ENGLISH USED

1 EIRCODE TRANSLATION³

2 UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION

3 OFFICIAL IRISH LANGUAGE VERSION

4 LEGAL OFFICIAL IRISH LANGUAGE VERSION

The Irish Validation lifecycle gives the developer the option of choosing the Irish language version where the validation level is appropriately high. Irish language versions of placenames are determined by The Placenames Branch (Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) and given legal status by means of a placenames order signed by the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. They are published on www.logainm.ie, developed by Fiontar, DCU. This research is generally undertaken on a County by County basis, with translations moving from official Irish language versions of placenames to legal status when the entire County has been completed and the appropriate Government order enacted

It is planned that the official Irish language version provided by The Placenames Branch will replace unofficial translations provided by GeoDirectory.

The Irish Postal Address currently contains the unofficial translations provided by GeoDirectory (Type 2) and if unavailable uses the English version of the address.

The English and Irish versions of address elements are displayed per Address Table below.

3 In a small number of cases Eircode has generated a translation without recourse to official sources. These generally apply to simple Lookup Table entries (e.g. East, West, etc.). Eircode plan to have these translations verified, but do not expect the values to change.

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ADDRESS TABLE NAME IRISH LANGUAGE ORGANISATION NAME

SUB_ADDRESS_NAME DEPARTMENT

NAME_IRISH

SUB_ADDRESS_NAME_IRISH DEPARTMENT_IRISH

SUB_ADDRESS_POINT NAME NAME_IRISH

ADDRESS_POINT NAME NAME_IRISH

BUILDING NAME NAME_IRISH

BUILDING_GROUP NAME

BUILDING_GROUP_NAME

NAME_IRISH

BUILDING_GROUP_NAME_IRI SH

THOROUGHFARE NAME

THOROUGHFARE_NAME

NAME_IRISH

THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRIS H

LOCALITY NAME

LOCALITY_NAME

NAME_IRISH

LOCALITY_NAME_IRISH

POST_TOWN NAME NAME_IRISH

COUNTY NAME NAME_IRISH,

NAME_IRISH_CO

In the case of COUNTY, we have included the NAME_IRISH_CO field which is how the COUNTY is displayed in Irish in an address when CO. is placed in front of it. For example

“MEATH” is “AN MHÍ” but “CO. MEATH” is “CO. NA MÍ”, therefore “NA MÍ” appears in the NAME_IRISH_CO field.

Irish translations are also available in the various Lookup Tables.

LOOKUP TABLE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IRISH LANGUAGE

QUALIFIER NAME NAME_IRISH

DESCRIPTOR NAME NAME_IRISH

GEOGRAPHIC NAME NAME_IRISH

Address Tables store QUALIFIER_ID, DESCRIPTOR_ID or GEOGRAPHIC_ID as a key to the equivalent Lookup Table. This means that the English and Irish equivalent for each of the values is equally available and is consistently stored.

For example, the thoroughfare OAKWOOD STREET UPPER would be stored in the THOROUGHFARE Table as:

THOROUGHFARE Fictional Example

NAME OAKWOOD STREET UPPER

NAME_IRISH SRÁID CHOILL NA DARACH

UACHTARACH

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QUALIFIER_ID 123

GEOGRAPHIC_ID NULL

DESCRIPTOR_ID 777

THOROUGHFARE_NAME OAKWOOD

THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH CHOILL NA DARACH

The QUALIFIER_ID in the THOROUGHFARE table links to the Qualifier record that contains the English and Irish version of the Qualifier.

QUALIFIER Fictional Example

QUALIFIER_ID 123

NAME UPPER

NAME_IRISH UACHTARACH

IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID 1

The DESCRIPTOR_ID in the THOROUGHFARE table links to the Descriptor record that contains the English and Irish version of the Descriptor.

DESCRIPTOR Fictional Example

DESCRIPTOR_ID 777

NAME STREET

NAME_IRISH SRÁID

IRISH_VERIFICATION_ID 777

This allows Irish versions of addresses to be searched in the exact same manner as English versions of addresses. For Example:

THOROUGHFARE Example 1 Example 2

NAME MARY STREET NORTH O'CONNELL STREET

LOWER NAME_IRISH SRÁID MHUIRE THUAIDH SRÁID UÍ CHONAILL

ÍOCHTARACH

THOROUGHFARE_NAME MARY O'CONNELL

THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH MHUIRE UÍ CHONAILL

QUALIFIER_ID 0 14

DESCRIPTOR_ID 194 194

GEOGRAPHIC_ID 2 0

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The two thoroughfares above have their full name stored in both English and Irish. The descriptor, qualifier and geographic is removed from the full name and the remainder is stored in THOROUGHFARE_NAME and THOROUGHFARE_NAME_IRISH.

A link to the DESCRIPTOR (STREET, ROAD, AVENUE etc.) table is stored with the thoroughfare. This link allows the Irish and English to be equally searchable.

DESCRIPTOR Example 1 EXAMPLE 2

DESCRIPTOR_ID 194 194

NAME STREET STREET

NAME_IRISH SRÁID SRÁID

A link to the QUALIFIER (LITTLE, MIDDLE, GREAT, etc.) is stored with the thoroughfare. This link allows the Irish and English to be equally searchable.

QUALIFIER Example 1 Example 2

QUALIFIER_ID 13

NAME LOWER

NAME_IRISH ÍOCHTARACH

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A link to the GEOGRAPHIC (NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST) is stored with the thoroughfare.

This link allows the Irish and English to be equally searchable.

GEOGRAPHIC Example 1 Example 2

GEOGRAPHIC_ID 2

NAME NORTH

NAME_IRISH THUAIDH

This model allows the main elements of the thoroughfare to be stored and searched efficiently.

It also removes common items to separate tables to improve data accuracy and search capabilities.

1.9 Postal Address

An Post, the Universal Service Provider, has prompted postal users to use the addressing format required to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of the postal service. Their addressing guides comply with the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) (the United Nations body responsible for promoting standards in the postal industry across the World) addressing guidelines. The postal address as defined by Irish Standard - I.S. EN 14142-1:2011 (Postal services. Address databases), as operated by the Universal Service Provider, An Post., is the format used in the ECAD.

The Postal Address is made up of a number of parts as outlined in the table below.

Address Parts Department Organisation

Sub Building Name (e.g. ‘Flat 1’) Building Name (e.g. ‘Rose Cottage’) Building Number (e.g. 22)

Building Group (e.g. ‘Marian Terrace’) Primary Thoroughfare (e.g. ‘Griffith Road’) Secondary Thoroughfare (e.g. Navan Road’)

Primary Locality (e.g. ‘Cookstown Industrial Estate’) Secondary Locality (e.g. ‘Manorhamilton’)

Post Town (e.g. ‘Dublin 14’) Post County (e.g. ‘Cork’) Eircode (e.g. ‘A65R2AF’)

There are twelve possible address parts but no Postal Address contains more than eight address lines. A set of rules is applied to the twelve possible address parts to construct an

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address with a maximum of eight lines plus a line for the Eircode. The results are stored in the POSTAL_ADDRESS table as described in 1.7.1.

1.9.1 Address Elements & Rules for Construction Department

The department or division within an organisation. If the department element exists, then the organisation must also exist.

Field in ECAD Fictional Example

Department ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Organisation ENERGY FOR YOU

Sub Building UNIT 8

Building MIDDLETON CENTRE

Primary Thoroughfare MAIN STREET

Post Town TRIM

Post County MEATH

Postcode T22 FNT4

Organisation

The name of an organisation, commercial or non-commercial.

Field in ECAD Fictional Example Organisation OAK TREE LIMITED Primary Thoroughfare SAINT ANDREW STREET

Post Town DUBLIN 1

Sub-Building

The sub-building refers to an apartment, flat or unit within a building.

Field in ECAD Fictional Example Sub Building APARTMENT 114

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Building THE MIDDLETON Primary Thoroughfare MAIN STREET

Post Town TRIM

Post County MEATH

Building Name

The name given to the building. Prepended by sub building, if any, when the sub building does not appear on a line to itself. The building name is omitted if it is the same as either the Organisation or Building Group.

Building Number

A number associated with the whole building. The building number may have a numeric and an alphanumeric component, which are concatenated e.g. 2A, or alternatively will have a simple building number or a complex building number. The building number always relates to the whole building and not a sub-unit within it.

A complex building number may be one of the following:

Dual

Two number separated by '/' e.g. 63/64 = 63, 64 Sequence

An odd or even sequence of numbers with lower and upper bound separated by an underscore '_' e.g. 1_5 = 1,3,5 and 2_6 = 2,4,6

Range

A range of consecutive numbers with lower and upper bound separated by a dash '-' e.g. 63-66 = 63, 64, 56, 66

The building number never appears on a line by itself and can prepend Building Group, Primary Thoroughfare or Primary Locality.

THOROUGHFARE ELEMENTS Building Groups

A collection of buildings with a collective name, located on or near the same thoroughfare.

The buildings in a Building Group, if numbered, are numbered within the Building Group, not within the thoroughfare. Examples include universities, hospitals, some industrial estates, some terraces, shopping centres, apartment complexes etc.

It may be appended to a building number, if any, otherwise it is output on a line by itself. It is omitted if the same as organisation.

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Primary Thoroughfare

The name of the thoroughfare on which premises are located. It may appear on a line by itself or be appended to either a sub building or building number.

Addresses with thoroughfares can sometimes have the thoroughfare excluded where a Building Group exists, such as a Retail Centre or Business Park, and the thoroughfare is not part of the Postal Address.

Secondary thoroughfare

It is never present without a primary thoroughfare. The primary thoroughfare is dependent on the secondary thoroughfare and appears before the secondary thoroughfare in any address.

Secondary thoroughfare are generally used to assist locating a primary thoroughfare. For example:

ADDRESS Fictional Example Primary Thoroughfare LOVE LANE EAST

Secondary Thoroughfare MOUNT STREET LOWER

This example shows that LOVE LANE EAST is a small thoroughfare that can be found off MOUNT STREET LOWER in DUBLIN 2.

LOCALITY ELEMENTS Locality elements are:

 Primary Locality

 Secondary Locality

 Post Town

 County

The first two locality elements refer to areas, districts, industrial estates, towns, etc. For a complete list of address types query the ADDRESS_TYPES table.

For example:

ADDRESS Fictional Example Primary Locality KILLARAINY Secondary Locality MOYCULLEN

The primary locality refers to the specific place the address is. The secondary locality helps identify where the primary locality is located.

Primary Locality

The name of the locality in which the address resides.

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In urban areas, the primary locality can be required to distinguish between two thoroughfares of the same name in the same district or town. Industrial estates with named thoroughfares are also held as localities. In rural areas the primary locality is generally a townland name.

Secondary Locality

Never present without a primary locality. The secondary locality has a wider geographic scope than the primary locality.

It is the secondary locality therefore which differentiates addresses with the same primary locality name within the same county.

Secondary localities are more likely to be required for rural addresses.

Post Town

The name of the post town associated with the premises for postal delivery purposes. This includes Dublin Postal Districts “Dublin 1” to “Dublin 24”.

The post town is a significant element of the Postal Address, however it is not always populated in an address. The official post office guide, Eolaí an Phoist⁴, describes post towns in the following manner

“A provincial postal address may include the name of a town or village several miles distant, with which the addressee has little or no connection, and, in some places, especially if this residence happens to be near a county boundary, the name of the neighbouring county instead of the county in which he actually resides. The explanation is that the main mail despatches have to be sent for more detailed sub division to certain centres known as POST TOWNS, chosen because of their accessibility and convenience.”

Post County

One of the 26 Counties in the Republic of Ireland. These counties are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. Post County is the County associated with the Post Town, not the geographic county in which the building is located. The Post County is normally used as part of the Postal Address with some exceptions e.g. Dublin Postal Districts where the Post County is not used and some Post Towns (e.g. Tipperary, Kildare, etc.) that have the same name as the Post County.

EIRCODE ELEMENT Eircode

The seven character Eircode has an A65F4E2 format. The Eircode is a mandatory address element. The last line of a Postal Address will contain the Eircode, displayed with a space.

e.g. A65 F4E2.

4 Ireland. Eolaí an phoist: Post office guide. Dublin

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1.10 Geographic Address

An Post, the Universal Service Provider, has prompted postal users to use the addressing format required to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of the postal service. Their addressing guides comply with the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) (the United Nations body responsible for promoting standards in the postal industry across the World) addressing guidelines. The ECAD also contains the Geographic Address

The Geographic Address is made up of the same parts as a Postal Address, and has an identical table structure.

There are twelve possible address parts but no Geographic Address contains more than eight address lines. A set of rules is applied to the twelve possible address parts to construct an address with a maximum of eight lines plus a line for the Eircode.

It is important to note that Eircode is providing the Geographic Address as an additional address format in ECAD, it is not an alternative postal address. The Geographic Address is provided by An Post GeoDirectory.

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Examples of differences between Geographic Address and Postal Address.

POSTAL ADDRESS GEOGRAPHIC ADDRESS

MAYNOOTH BUSINESS PARK MAYNOOTH BUSINESS PARK

STRAFFAN ROAD STRAFFAN ROAD

MAYNOOTH MAYNOOTH

NAAS CO. KILDARE

CO. KILDARE

TERMINAL BUILDING TERMINAL BUILDING

SHANNON AIRPORT SHANNON AIRPORT

SHANNON SHANNON

LIMERICK CO. CLARE

In the Postal Address table the Post County is related to the Post Town and not the location of the building. In Geographic Address the Post County relates to the building location. A Geographic Address may differ from a Postal Address in one or more of the following address elements

 Primary Locality

 Secondary Locality

 Post Town

 Post County

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2. Advanced Topics

This section is aimed at ECAD users, and provides more detail on the following technical aspects of ECAD:

 How to use Alias information

 Spatial data and other data within the ECAD

 Information concerning address validation

 How to perform sample ECAD queries

2.1 How to use Alias Information

How the Irish Public currently provide and use addresses can differ from the Postal Address format. While the first address line is usually (but not always) the same, the subsequent address lines can vary in number and content. One of the issues is a difference to the Post County in the Postal Address. For example the address below is geographically located in Co. Offaly but has a postal county of Co. Laois.

ADDRESS GEOGRAPHIC ADDRESS POSTAL ADDRESS

ADDRESS LINE 1 123 ROWAN STREET 123 ROWAN STREET

ADDRESS LINE 2 TULLAMORE ROAD TULLAMORE ROAD

ADDRESS LINE 3 PORTARLINGTON PORTARLINGTON

ADDRESS LINE 4 CO. OFFALY CO. LAOIS

The BUILDING table contains a POST_COUNTY_ID and a COUNTY_ID to indicate the County used in the Postal Address differs from the Geographic County used in the Geographic Address.

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Alias Tables provide a solution to the remaining address differences with addresses that do not conform to the correct Postal Address.

Each of the Address Tables have an associated Alias table as listed below.

ADDRESS TABLE ALIAS TABLE

ORGANISATION ORGANISATION_ALIAS

ADDRESS_POINT ADDRESS_POINT_ALIAS

BUILDINGS BUILDINGS_ALIAS

BUILDING_GROUP BUILDING_GROUP_ALIAS

THOROUGHFARE THOROUGHFARE_ALIAS

LOCALITY LOCALITY_ALIAS

POST_TOWN POST_TOWN_ALIAS

COUNTY COUNTY_ALIAS

The aliases fall into 4 types as described in the table below:

# ALIAS TYPE

1 Common Misspelling 2 Alternative Name 3 Alternative Format

4 Alternative Name and Format

The following sections describe the different Alias Types.

2.1.1 Common Misspelling Alias Type

This Alias Type covers situations where common misspellings of addresses are outside normal “fuzzy tolerance” settings. If searching for an address element does not yield a result, the recommended approach is to perform a search on the relevant Alias Table. This will allow matching an address that has been incorrectly spelt. The alias table contains the incorrect spelling of the address element and a link to the relevant record containing the correct element it represents. In a common misspelling scenario it would be normal procedure to feedback the corrected address rather than perpetuating the spelling mistake. Care must be taken in this scenario to highlight the correction back to the originator.

This example shows a common misspelling of a locality and how it is corrected.

Entered Address:

Fictional Example

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ROCK STREET DUNLAOGHIRE

Entry in LOCALITY_ALIAS Table:

LOCALITY_ID ALIAS_TYPE_ID NAME

132165468 1 DUNLAOGHIRE

Entry in LOCALITY Table LOCALITY_ID NAME

132165468 DUN LAOGHAIRE

This allows us to match the address and correct its spelling.

Corrected Address ROCK STREET DUN LAOGHAIRE

2.1.2 Alternative Name Alias Type

This alias type covers situations where address elements have more than one way of being spelt that are accepted as correct. The Alias Table will contain the name that the address element is also known as. In alternative spelling scenarios it would be normal procedure to not correct the inputted address.

This example shows an alternative spelling of a locality.

Entered Address:

Fictional Example ROCK STREET BUNNYCONNELLAN MAYO

Entry in LOCALITY_ALIAS Table:

LOCALITY_ALIAS_ID LOCALITY_ID ALIAS_TYPE_ID NAME

1546 132164558 2 BUNNYCONNELLAN

Entry in LOCALITY Table:

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LOCALITY_ID NAME

132164558 BONNICONLON

In the Postal Address this is spelt BONNICONLON but in this case it is not advisable to correct the locally used spelling of the input address.

Unchanged Address ROCK STREET BUNNYCONNELLAN MAYO

It is important to note that this advice pertains where there is a requirement to maintain the input address as is, and does not indicate an alternative postal address to the postal address as defined by Irish Standard - I.S. EN 14142-1:2011 (Postal services. Address databases), as operated by the Universal Service Provider, An Post.

2.1.3 Alternative Format Alias Type

This alias type covers situations where an address is often written using different address lines to the Postal Address.

In this alias type each Alias Table with contain links to the records that make up the alternative format of an address.

Alternative format aliases can be used in all Alias Tables and this example shows a THOROUGHFARE_ALIAS example.

Field Type Fictional Example Alias Postal Address Thoroughfare STONEWALL DRIVE STONEWALL DRIVE Primary Locality SAGGART ABBEY

Post County CO. DUBLIN

Entry in THOROUGHFARE_ALIAS Table:

ALIAS_TYPE_ID THOROUGHFARE_ID PRIMARY_LOCALITY_ID POST_TOWN_ID COUNTY_ID

3 132164558 543216 20

Thus the Thoroughfare of STONEWALL DRIVE(132164558) can be followed by SAGGART ABBEY(543216), CO. DUBLIN (20).

This alias type allows you to match/verify addresses in an alternative format to the Postal Address by using the Address IDs in the tables. It is important to note that Eircode is providing this alias information as a method to assist address matching/verification

EIRCODE ADDRESS DATABASE PRODUCT GUIDE EDITION 2, VERSION 13. coadm. Edition 2, Version 13

Edition 2, Version 13

Table of Contents

Using the ECAD Product Guide

1. General Information

6

5

4

A

F

E

2

Address

Alias

Lookup

Information

History

2. Advanced Topics