Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

The local government computer services board receives a substantial amount of money from local authorities but an overall strategy seems to be lacking. Has the Minister considered the use of e-procurement globally? For example, in Britain, where the local authority budget is £27 billion, savings of 10% have been made through that country's impressive e-procurement system. I urge the Minister to consider that in the context of the efficiencies he mentioned earlier.

With regard to staffing, the website of Kildare County Council's planning system gets approximately 1,000 hits per week. Given that these people might otherwise visit the council's offices, significant savings can be made through the use of information technology. However, an overall strategy should be driven by the Department rather than by individual local authorities. Does the Minister have a vision for the future of local government or is this planning left to local authorities?

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