Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the current position in regard to the development of the e-Government project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20364/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Several projects have been initiated by my Department under the aegis of the e-Government project. The Department has invested considerable time in designing and implementing the infrastructure upon which to build quality e-Government services to the public.

Some of the projects are as follows. Minerals application processing system, MAPS, is an online application for prospecting licences and is in place and accessible from the Department's website at www.dcmnr.ie. The Department plans to expand on the MAPS framework to bring further prospecting services online, including tracking of applications for licences and geographical information systems, GIS, services. The integrated fisheries information system, IFIS, went live in March 2005. Together with the release of MAPS, the IFIS brings together the infrastructure and back office work done by the Department which paves the way for the introduction of further business applications in 2005-06. The system caters for licensing and registration of the fishing vessel fleet and the recording and reporting of catch data to the EU. Phase II — online forms — is to follow in Q3 2005, including an online application for a sea fishing licence.

Coastal zone management, CoZAS, system phase I — foreshore — has entered its development phase and will go live in Q4 2005. Phase II — aquaculture — is due to be released in early 2006 and the final phase — dumping at sea — is set for delivery in Q2 2006. The system will allow members of the public to view a list of all applications for licences within the system; create applications for services relating to foreshore leasing and aquaculture licensing and enable the submission of an application form. Phase II of the system will make all of the above services available to the Department's aquaculture customers, including a GIS element.

The Department is in the early stages of expanding on the existing data available on the Irish corporate fleet. When finalised, the corporate vessel register, or CVR, will allow round the clock access to the data, with due diligence given to security and data sensitivity issues, for the benefit of national and international maritime safety and security interests and to provide self-service vessel queries. The CVR project incorporates the safe sea network of the EU Commission which will enable the community and Ireland to monitor passing and visiting maritime traffic leading to more effective port and coastal State control and the enhancement of maritime safety, security and environmental protection. The implementation of the system will allow the Government to meet obligations on the reporting of vessel information, as mandated by applicable international conventions and protocols, over the Internet and provide the Irish authorities with a method for sending and requesting information about maritime activity to and from other EU member states. The system will also advance the objective of e-enabling the public service by moving towards the online management of marine safety and vessel-related issues and activities. It will also facilitate a joined-up approach to marine activities with other EU member states.

The Department's website, www.dcmnr.ie, is continually being improved and developed and will comply with the National Disability Authority's IT accessibility guidelines, level II, by Q3 2005.