Telephone numbers in the Republic of Ireland
Location of Ireland (dark green)
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|
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Country | Ireland |
| Continent | Europe |
| Regulator | ComReg |
| Type | Open |
| NSN length | 7-9 |
| Typical format | (0xx) xxx xxxx |
| Access codes | |
| Country calling code | +353 |
| International call prefix | 00 |
| Trunk prefix | 0 |
| List of Ireland dialing codes | |
Numbers on the Irish Telephone Numbering Plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg.
Telephone numbers in Ireland are similar in format to those in many European open numbering plans, for example the UK or Germany, with only the subscriber's number being required for local dialling. However, one can also dial local calls with the full area code without any difference in charge. The trunk prefix is '0' and is followed by an area code, the first digit of which indicates the geographical area. Calls made from mobile phones, however, always require the full area code and phone number.
Irish area codes vary in length, between one and three digits (excluding the leading 0), and subscribers' numbers are between five and seven digits. A migration to a standard format, (0xx) xxx xxxx, is in progress; however, to avoid disruption, this process is only being carried out as needed where existing area codes and local numbering systems have reached full capacity.
Irish geographical area structured on a regional basis and follow a logical hierarchy of regions and sub-regions. These area codes approximately correspond to the following geographical regions: 01 - Greater Dublin, 02 - South (Cork), 04 (North East), 05 (South East) 06 (Midwest/Southwest), 07 (Northwest), 09 (West). The midlands area is covered by several regional codes.
Codes do not necessarily match county or provincial boundaries, as they evolved to suit technical requirements of the network as it developed over the decades.
Except for the 01 area, each area is further subdivided into smaller areas. Usually, the main city or town in the area is 0X1. (Cork 021, Limerick 061, Galway 091 etc.)
ComReg maintains a map of area codes here.
Mobile phone numbers start with the 08x prefix. The prefix, 088, was previously issued to the Eircell analogue service. This has subsequently been issued to Digiweb.
Irish mobile telephone numbering is part of a closed numbering plan. This means that a mobile phone number must have 10 digits. Calls to landlines, and the like, require the area code on mobile phone.
Mobile number portability has been in operation since 2003. While a new connection to any network will take the prefix above, there is no guarantee that a number with one of those prefixes has remained on that network. In addition, a given network is not guaranteed to receive all of their prefix block. The numbers in each prefix are allocated in blocks of several thousand to the networks, as they require them, thus ComReg could in theory, allocate 083 numbers to Vodafone.
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