Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to contribute to this debate. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, and Deputy Coveney, on agreeing to the motion, which is the correct way to approach this issue. There is no need for it to be adversarial because, essentially, it is about improving the quality of services we can provide to the people we represent.

It has become clear that technology will be at the very heart of the provision of public services in the future as it has become increasingly important in recent years. In embracing technology, it is essential the systems and services we set up on-line are flexible and can adapt to the changing nature of technology and that we can change them to respond to new needs and demands which will emerge from time to time.

As Deputy Cuffe said, many commercial organisations have done great work in providing services on-line. Websites such as Ryanair.com and eBay.com have become part of everyday life in Ireland and around the world. Banking and shopping on-line are part of people's everyday experiences. It is important we make a distinction between the provision of information on-line and the provision of public services on-line. There are many fine examples of the provision of information on-line by public bodies. The Citizens Information Board website is an outstanding resource which is widely used by the citizens of the State and which provides a wide range of information. The Basis website for businesses is very beneficial to anyone in business or considering starting a business.

In terms of the provision of services, as a chartered accountant, I know from talking to colleagues regularly that the Revenue on-line service has transformed the way they do their work. Revenue has enjoyed real benefits in terms of efficiency. It is probably the single most successful e-Government initiative which allows Revenue to administer the business of twice as many taxpayers with fewer staff. That should be noted. Motor taxation was mentioned. As a former member of Cork County Council, Deputy Coveney will remember seeing people queue outside County Hall in Cork to renew their motor taxation at the end of every month. Thankfully, that will never be the case again. One can view real time air quality monitoring in one's area on the Environmental Protection Agency website. The Companies Registration Office also has an excellent website and many services are available on-line on the national car test website.

The way the Oireachtas does its business has changed for the better and it has really embraced technology in recent times. For example, replies to our parliamentary questions are on-line. However, we can all do more. Many Deputies, including myself, do not have websites and we need to change that, if we can. Departments have taken very important steps to provide services on-line but I would like to see us do more. For example, I would like the Department of Social and Family Affairs to accept applications on-line. I agree with Deputy Cuffe in regard to local authorities. There is much room for improvement there in terms of accepting housing applications, applications to register to vote and planning applications on-line and posting information on road programmes, road works, etc., on-line. Many local authorities do not provide a staff directory and one cannot find the person to contact on-line to deal with a particular issue.

Data protection and identity theft are serious issues which will increasingly come to the fore as we embrace e-Government in the way we do our business. I agree with Deputy Ferris's point that we must ensure equality of access to services, that people who do not have access to computers, broadband and the Internet are not discriminated against and that we continue to provide the traditional services on a one-to-one basis which many people enjoy.

Again, I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, and Deputy Coveney on agreeing to the motion. I look forward to the revised e-Government action plan due to be published in July.

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