Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on implementation of the e-Cabinet project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30006/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 2: To ask the Taoiseach the cost which has accrued to his Department in respect of the e-Cabinet project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30009/05]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 3: To ask the Taoiseach if a cost-benefit analysis has been carried out in respect of the e-Cabinet project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31427/05]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 4: To ask the Taoiseach the costs incurred to date in 2005 by his Department arising from the e-Cabinet project; his plans for further expansion or development of this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31498/05]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 5: To ask the Taoiseach the cost to his Department in respect of the e-Cabinet project. [32463/05]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 6: To ask the Taoiseach the cost to his Department of the e-Cabinet project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34052/05]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

I welcome the opportunity to report on the implementation of the e-Cabinet project within my Department. The e-Cabinet system developed by my Department was deployed for use by all Departments in June 2004 and has been working well since. The project has never been about gadgets for Ministers, rather about seeking to achieve a fundamental improvement in the efficiency of the process by which memoranda for Government are prepared, circulated and submitted. Since its initial deployment in 2004, a number of planned enhancements have been added to the system.

There are 5,400 civil servants registered to use the system. Each registered user has access rights appropriate to his or her responsibilities. As an example of the scale of the efficiencies that it has brought, in a 12 month period from November 2004 approximately 25,000 draft documents were securely circulated electronically using the system. Previously, each of these transactions would have involved a printed copy of the document being delivered by hand either within a Department or between Departments. Additional planned features of the system should be fully completed by the end of the year. Those will enable electronic circulation of Government decisions and for the management of briefing for Ministers on the system.

Apart from process benefits, e-Cabinet provides users with timely information on matters coming before Government. For example, Ministers can see the evolving agenda as each item is submitted to the Cabinet secretariat rather than needing to wait for the circulation of a printed agenda on Fridays. Electronic memoranda are presented in a manner that enables key information to be highlighted. These are just some of the qualitative benefits that the system provides.

The total cost of the project will be approximately €5 million, which is comfortably below the initial estimated cost of €6.45 million at 2001 prices identified in the feasibility study that was undertaken in advance of the formal decision to commence the project. That study highlighted the significant benefits that would arise from modernising the Cabinet business process and implementation of such a system. All development was guided by the goal of achieving value for money.

Already, the system, which is the first of its kind to join up the Government decision-making process from beginning to end, has attracted considerable interest from other Governments and international organisations. It was short-listed, along with four other Irish projects, for the prestigious European Commission e-Government Good Practice 2005 Awards, which were presented in Manchester last week. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to commend the Revenue Commissioners on their success in winning one of the awards for their Revenue on-line system.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I accept this is not about gadgets for Ministers, rather it is a genuine attempt to streamline and make Cabinet business much more efficient. Is the e-Cabinet project fully operational? It was devised by one company in 2003, reviewed by a second and assessed by a third. Is the Taoiseach happy that the security of the e-Cabinet project is as it should be and no one with technological and manipulative skills can hack into what is being discussed?

As it appears to be quite successful from the perspective of the Taoiseach's Department and the Cabinet, have the reports on the e-Government project been taken into account? In respect of the Reach element, reports indicate this will be disappointing unless the Government were to take serious action. Have recommendations been sent out that the e-Government project be dealt with in the same way as this project? Approximately €26 million has been expended, of which €18 million has gone to outside consultants.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The system is doing what it is designed to do. From a cost perspective, it has been completed at a substantially lower cost than estimated. It will be fully operational by Christmas and is at the last stages of enhancement. It has been fully operational but, along the way, a number of new capabilities and initiatives that people believed were beneficial to the system arose. I am advised that they will be finished by Christmas. The system is applied to all Departments and virtually all Government memoranda. When I asked I was told "all" meant over 99% with just a few that may come in late falling outside that. The system provides instant secure transmission within Departments.

In respect of the companies involved, like any other project of this complexity, it was necessary from time to time to engage a small number of additional contributors of specialist services. One of these, for example, arose from the need for independent security advice. Also, infrastructure needed to be installed and configured and a few website styles for viewing documents in electronic environments were designed. All these services were commissioned by the project team. The original report done by PWC included €825,000 for the project management but as I pointed out previously, that was undertaken by my Department so that cost did not arise.

The contract for software development with InVision Research Corporation cost €952,000. This does not include the cost of any change to enhancements I have mentioned. The main contractor was InVision Research Corporation which developed the software. The system is fully up and running.

I am not sure if the Reach project was more complicated but many more Departments were involved in it, including the Department of Social and Family Affairs and other Departments. It was far more complex in the range of challenges. It concerned Government memoranda and access to them. Work is still ongoing on this project across the range of Departments involved. I have not yet seen the latest report but I understand it is quite an intricate project. I have not been involved because the work is being carried out by a committee. Some officials of my Department are involved in it. They are hoping to overcome some of the difficulties but it is quite a complex system as it links many facets. However, they believe they can get on top of it.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Taoiseach recall when the e-Cabinet project was introduced at Cabinet that the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, advised the system had been custom designed and built by the InVision Research Corporation which is based in the United States? Will he inform the House how much has been paid to that corporation in respect of its roll-out at Cabinet and whether there is an ongoing contract with that research corporation? While Deputy Kenny alluded to it in the course of his question, is the Taoiseach aware that the InVision Research Corporation is contracted by the United States Government to carry out the drafting and dissemination of intelligence information through its technological advances? Would that not give rise for some concern in respect of the confidentiality of Cabinet business? Can the Taoiseach advise the House the extent of access to Cabinet material that the InVision Research Corporation had over the period of the introduction and establishment of the e-Cabinet project?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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InVision Research Corporation was the main contractor for the project. Its role was to develop the software applications and so it was fully involved in developing the software. A separate company did the work relating to security infrastructure. They are no different to our own major companies in that they win contracts wherever they win them. I have no concerns about confidentiality and security. The company must sign a confidentiality clause and there was nothing untoward. The company was fully involved in the design of the system. What was the Deputy's first question?

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It was about the cost of payments to the InVision Research Corporation and whether it has an ongoing role?

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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No. Its role was to develop the software and it is not part of the ongoing project team, to the best of my knowledge. Its role was to develop it at the outset. The total cost paid to the corporation for software development was €952,000. This sum did not cover any of the smaller enhancements afterwards which it provided but these would not have cost that much. The contract came in well under its budget. I presume the company received something in the region of €1 million in total for its involvement.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Thank you, Ceann Comhairle, I have learned sufficient.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I am very aware of the talents of the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Kitt, who is my constituency colleague. I am aware the former Minister of State in that position, Deputy Hanafin, would not be one of the slower members of the Taoiseach's Cabinet; that prize lies elsewhere. It is clear to me as a member of the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, which is reviewing the area of the development of electronic services and e-use in the wider Government circles, that it has failed. The experiment of having a Minister of State in charge of e-Government, a Minister responsible for developing the infrastructure and other Ministers looking at the development of uses, has not worked. It is clear from the work of the committee that we have failed to roll out the use of telecommunications in Government generally, particularly broadband and e-business, so as to encourage and stimulate the use of the infrastructure on which a significant amount of money is being expended.

Does the Taoiseach agree that if two of his brightest and best have not succeeded in developing this e-Ministry, perhaps because they are too busy with their other duties, and even if they succeeded with the e-Cabinet project, it is an indication that the general policy on the development of e-Government needs to be changed and this requires one Cabinet Minister to be given responsibility for the infrastructure and development of e-services across all Departments, particularly in the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children and the Revenue Commissioners, which all communicate directly with the public? I have broadened out my question but I think it is valid in terms of the development of e-Government services. I contend the current way of doing business does not seem to be working.

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has broadened his question. There is a number of bodies involved. The Information Society Commission works within my Department and promotes the information society in the public domain such as schools. It ensures that people are not left behind in this area. The Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, and the former Minister of State, Deputy Hanafin, launched numerous programmes to involve active age groups, libraries and other services and these have been successful.

On the broader question, the Minister for Education and Science has taken responsibility for technological roll-out to the primary schools. The IT 2000 programme has completed this task and continues with the roll-out of broadband to primary schools and the programme has been a success.

The overall responsibility for dealing with broadband and the technology companies which will help in the rolling out of broadband and in achieving a better take-up of it lies with the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey. He is co-ordinating the whole project. It is disappointing that when broadband was first rolled out on a free basis, many companies took up the offer for the period when it was offered free but did not continue with it when the free period was over.

On the public service side, CMOD is the section of the Department of Finance which has a budget for promoting the more effective use of technology in Departments for some years. Various Departments have an allocated budget for projects approved by CMOD. This has worked very well. The Department of Social and Family Affairs has been an exemplary Department for many years in the use of modern technology, taking the number of its clients and its significant workload. Revenue has done a superb job. It was acknowledged last week in Manchester that Revenue is way ahead of most other countries in the technological services it provides. Unfortunately they have to take money from people so it is not the most popular service.

Other areas such as land registry and the register of births, marriages and deaths can be accessed in ten or 15 minutes by means of technology instead of waiting in a long queue. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, has significantly improved its services. As I stated in my reply to Deputy Kenny, some bodies are grappling and struggling along the way. However, people are beginning to see the benefits of it.

The Deputy asked whether the services could be combined under one Minister. I do not think that is possible but it is important that people work together. We have emphasised that CMOD in the Department of Finance and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources should work closely together in this regard. I accept that point because that is the best way to get value for money, enhance developments and roll out the positive achievements. There is a need for close co-operation and compatibility with the type of software and hardware used. I accept those points because we are spending quite considerable resources within the Civil Service to try to meet this progress. As I stated, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, is working closely with the industry on broadband. It is a priority of this Government to try to roll out broadband as extensively and as quickly as we can throughout the country.