Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the service delivery modernisation provision of €4.5 million which is included in his Department's Estimates under the consultancy heading is an ongoing project or if same has an expected completion date. [37130/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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In July 2000, Government approved proposals by the Department for a service delivery modernisation programme or SDM. The SDM is a multi-annual programme of work involving the introduction of new technology and the replacement of legacy computer systems. It also involves the redesign of back office systems.

The SDM programme is being implemented in a number of self-contained projects spanning several years. Each project has two strands, one focused on developing the ICT system components and the other on implementing a parallel programme of organisational change. The purpose of the organisational change programme is to redesign work processes and organisational structures with a view to implementing modern work practices which, supported by a flexible technical architecture, will allow the Department to respond to change and to deliver a high quality, personalised and integrated service to customers.

The first phase of this programme, which focused on the child benefit scheme, commenced in 2001 and was successfully implemented in November 2002. This phase gained international recognition for its improvements in service delivery. The current phase of the SDM programme commenced on 31 May 2004 and covers the extension of the programme to retirement and old age contributory pension, household benefits-free travel and bereavement grant. The new system will facilitate the proactive initiation of pension claims, make it easier for customers to transact their business with the Department and will provide additional support for staff in carrying out their duties.

The first release of this current phase of the SDM programme went live on 1 October 2005. This involved the implementation of the contribution history object or CHO. The CHO facilitates the electronic consolidation of a customer's full insurance record. This will result in an improvement in customer service as more complete contribution records, on which their entitlement to contributory payment rely, will be more easily accessible.

A provision of €4.5 million has been provided in the Estimates for 2006 to complete the development of the current phase of the SDM programme which is due for full implementation by the end of 2006. The SDM programme is a major undertaking which aims to introduce modern ICT systems and work practices to allow the Department to respond more rapidly to strategic changes and to deliver a high quality service to its customers. I am satisfied that the new system will deliver tangible benefits for customers and will be more efficient in terms of accuracy and time taken to deal with the processing of claims.