The critical need for accurate and rapid location identification on farms has once again been brought to the fore by Galway County councillor Andrew Reddington, who has called on the Government to address the issue of emergency access to farmyards. Cllr Reddington is urging that farmers be allowed to obtain a dedicated Eircode or alternative location code for their farmyards — separate from their home addresses — specifically for use in emergency situations.
“Farmyards are workplaces, and often very isolated ones at that,” said Cllr Reddington. “If someone is injured in a shed, or in a remote field far from the main house, every second counts. Emergency services need a clear, precise location to respond to, and relying on the Eircode of a farmhouse that might be miles away is simply not good enough.”
At present, Eircodes are only assigned to postal addresses, which are governed by An Post’s GeoDirectory system. This system does not allow for the allocation of Eircodes to non-postal locations, such as sheds, barns, or farmyards.
Cllr Reddington said he has contacted Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Martin Heydon, to express his concern and to highlight the need for a practical solution. He also proposed the use of the Loc8 system, a GPS-based location identification tool developed in Ireland. Loc8 Codes are 8-character alphanumeric references that can precisely pinpoint locations anywhere in the country, including areas without postal addresses.
“This is a matter of safety,” Cllr Reddington said. “I’ve written to Minister Heydon asking him to look into the Loc8 system as a viable alternative for farms. Loc8 Codes could be the answer — they are accurate, easy to use, and can be issued for any location. Farmers need a system that gives emergency responders the exact spot they need to go.”
Farms often span large areas, and while an Eircode may bring emergency services to the front gate of a farmhouse, the injured person could be working in a shed several fields away, or in a remote part of the property with no signage or landmarks.
“Imagine trying to describe to a 999 operator how to find a specific shed on a 100-acre farm, in a panic, when someone is seriously hurt. You shouldn’t have to rely on verbal directions or trying to drop a pin on a smartphone app that you may not know how to use. We need a better way,” he stressed.
Cllr Reddington also highlighted a related problem facing farmers during routine Bord Bia audits. “When filling out Bord Bia forms, farmers are asked to provide their Eircode — but that’s the one for their house, not the yard. It’s not just inconvenient, it shows the system doesn’t understand the reality on the ground for farmers.”
He is calling for the Department of Agriculture, An Post, and emergency service providers to work together to either extend the Eircode system to include non-postal locations such as farmyards or to officially adopt Loc8 Codes or a similar solution for this purpose.
“Farming is already one of the most dangerous professions in Ireland. We need to do everything we can to ensure that if a farm accident happens, help can get there as fast as possible. That means using modern location tools to bridge the gap,” said Reddington.
The issue is not just about convenience — it is about saving lives. For isolated farmers working long hours in rural parts of the country, a dedicated location code for their farmyard could be the difference between life and death in an emergency.
