Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It makes sense to have a single Government website. I have explained previously my view that Government is too fragmented, that every Department and agency has its own website and web officer and it makes sense to have a single portal. MyGovID works well and gov.ie, which will be the single portal for Departments, will work well too. It should not be necessary to expend public money on expensive research to tell us why it makes sense to have a single Government website. It simply makes sense to me because that is the direction in which the world is moving and this has been done successfully in other countries.

The reason for the delay in undertaking the citizen survey is that it has not been a priority. My Department has many tasks and the citizen survey has not been a priority. I was only briefed on the matter in the past two or three weeks. It is planned to consult Opposition leaders on the questions before the survey is in the field and to publish the results when it is complete. As I stated, with so many things going on, the survey has not been a priority. While it is still intended to carry it out, it may well be the autumn before that happens.

On the role of gov.ie, with due regard to international practice, as part of the eGovernment Strategy 2017-20 and in line with the Our Public Service 2020 report, the Government Information Service, GIS, has been working with the Office of the Chief Information Officer to develop gov.ie. The website will serve as a single digital point where citizens can easily access information about Government services that are available to them and provide the digital face of the Government to the people. The OGCIO is responsible for the technical development of the site in line with its responsibility to lead on the implementation of the public service ICT strategy. The Government Information Service is responsible for ensuring the website is developed and is citizen focused in design and content and consistent with international best practice and overarching Government communications. Consultation, trialling and testing are ongoing and will involve the rationalisation of existing Government websites and online services over time.

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