Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ms Hallahan mentioned a few things, including security and privacy which are primary concerns. I remember that we received something from the Oireachtas IT unit stating that, as cloud computing services are located outside the State, security cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, it is obviously an issue in here as well.

Ms Hallahan said she was doing her best to reassure organisations, so how is that progressing? What sort of reassurances can she give? Presumably, broadband is an absolute requirement but it is more easily found in urban areas than in rural ones which have intermittent, low-speed broadband. Ms Hallahan also said that Microsoft's deployment of cloud services, particularly among small businesses, is progressing, although movement towards its adoption in the public sector is slow. What type of small businesses are progressing in this way? As regards the public sector, a lot of data is stored by local authorities so what moves are there within those organisations to examine that issue? What cost savings are involved in moving towards the cloud system?