Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

The information repositories have been in place for some time. Oasis, now called Citizens Information, was built by Comhairle and provides a comprehensive and much acclaimed information facility for citizen services. Basis, which provides information for business, was built by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The registration-authentication system has also been constructed by Reach, in conjunction with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. However, this facility does not have the high level of authentication required for some public services as a result of our lack of a national identity system and it has been a key factor in our benchmarking performance in recent years. An electronic payments facility has been put in place by the local government computer services board and is being used by a number of Departments and agencies for the past five years. Reach has also developed an inter-agency messaging system as an infrastructure to link agencies with the broker and to link the various components of the broker together.

Last year, a review of Reach was undertaken and following that review it was decided by the Government to incorporate the REACH agency into the Department of Finance. The broker has not been abandoned; some components are well established and are being used by many organisations across the public service. However, there has been concern about the ongoing running costs of the broker and the Department of Finance is reviewing the situation, in light of currently available technologies, with a view to making it more cost effective. It is important for people to recognise that technology is changing all the time in terms of cost and functionality.

The concept of the broker was devised eight years ago, or 24 Internet years ago. Since then, technology has moved at a rapid pace so it would be foolish in the extreme if we were not to take account of those developments, some of which can be quite revolutionary.

I have no doubt that some of the novel services we have seen come on stream will be old fashioned in a relatively short space of time. This is the nature of the world we live in and is reflected in the benchmarking exercises. We were an early leader in benchmarking and we appear to be slipping, but we are determined to move back up the ladder before too long. It is prudent that the broker is reviewed and continues to be reviewed to ensure the maximum benefit.

This debate is timely considering the publication of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report and the OECD report. I thank Deputy Coveney for tabling this motion as it gives us a good opportunity to clarify the issues and to clear up some myths. We must not assume that the technologies available today are the same as those that prevailed eight or ten years ago and that the approach to e-Government should be more of the same, a continuation of the supply-led strategy outside the bigger context of modernisation and without regard to the need to maximise performance.

The world is moving on and new technologies are impacting on all sectors of life and on many activities. While there is no argument that we should be using them, it is important that we learn from what we have done, that we look closely at what the reports are saying and that our response takes full account of the context within which we are operating. We now know and accept that e-Government is not just about putting services on-line. We now know that the real challenge is to make government and the democratic processes more relevant in a world that is seeing changes on a global scale, from economic growth and migration to the new phenomenon of social networking over the Internet.

We also know that technology can enable profound changes in organisations. It is not simply a matter of putting this or that service on-line and the justification for the use of technology needs to be very clear. The modernisation process that has been ongoing in the public service in Ireland and which is comprehensively addressed in the OECD report has placed a new emphasis on performance and serving the citizen, on using technology as a tool to achieve. All organisations and individuals are performing for a purpose, to achieve objectives in the services they deliver, in their internal administration and in the way they play a part in the overall structure of government. It is clear there are many ways in which technology can be used. There are many opportunities to improve performance, to re-design processes and structures, where technology makes this a viable proposition. Therefore, in deciding on the future deployment of technology, these opportunities for improvement have to be the starting point.

It goes without saying that when new ground is being broken, when new concepts are being tried out and where new services are being built, there is an element of risk. There is a tradition of risk aversion in the public service, a tradition that can be an obstacle to taking leaps, yet it is a tradition which needs to change. Risk means an acceptance of the possibility of failure and a culture that permits risk, but it also means having a robust management capability, one that allows us to have a strong control, to permit experimentation and entrepreneurship and, above all, to learn from both success and failure.

One of the issues that has been raised both here and in the context of the OECD report is the question of central leadership. In that context, the role of the Department of the Taoiseach has been to provide strategic coherence in cross-departmental policy areas such economic and social policy, social partnership or the information society. The Department has provided the space for agencies and Departments and other sectors to work together in the formulation of more comprehensive strategies. By working with the e-strategy group of Secretaries General and with other cross-departmental groups on the information society and e-Government, the Department has ensured that there is compatibility and agreement across the system.

However, I accept that the separation of e-Government and modernisation has been a problem and I accept that a new approach is now required. We need a new departure that sees e-Government or the use of technology in Government being used in response to a demand for better performance and more potent outcomes right across the public service. The precise governance arrangements, including funding, will now be addressed in light of the OECD recommendations and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, having due regard to the challenges that this will mean for the public service in Ireland.

I thank the Opposition for tabling this motion as it is a timely debate, especially in the context of the OECD report and the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, and as we are now formulating this action plan which is very critical. We have been seeking inputs from Departments and we are bringing coherence to this plan. We will see what we can do with regard to reaching agreement with the Opposition tomorrow. If that is not possible, this debate is still very useful.

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