Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The e-Cabinet project has progressed very well and the key aspects of the system came into operation during 2004. Further development is in progress and will be incrementally deployed in the course of this year.

Phase one went live in summer 2004 and was launched by the then Minister of State with responsibility for the information society, Deputy Hanafin. It enabled all Departments to author and process memoranda for Government, to conduct interdepartmental consultation in a secure electronic environment and, similarly, to submit memoranda electronically to the Cabinet secretariat.

In November, Ministers began using the system at Cabinet meetings. While its use at Cabinet is at a preliminary stage, Ministers believe that it provides an important support for the Cabinet process. Some of the immediate benefits include real time access to the evolving Cabinet agenda and associated memoranda. Virtually all memoranda for Government are managed end-to-end on the system, that is from when they are first created right through to the Cabinet table. Further features of the system continue to be developed and will be deployed incrementally during 2005.

The e-Cabinet project is a leading edge Government initiative, which shows our commitment to applying new technologies to improve processes, even at the heart of Government. Its innovative character puts us at the forefront worldwide for implementation of technology in support of Cabinet, in view of its depth and sophistication.

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