Written answers

Tuesday, 21 March 2006

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Departmental Programmes

8:00 pm

Photo of John McGuinnessJohn McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 436: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the cost to date of a project (details supplied); the methods used to determine the success or otherwise of the project; and the future plans for the project. [10738/06]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The BASIS project was established in the year 2000 as part of the Government's action plan for the development of the information society in Ireland. BASIS stands for business access to state information and services. The BASIS project was concerned with encouraging and facilitating the on-line provision of public services, in particular to the business community.

The primary initiative undertaken by the BASIS project was the development of the BASIS website, www.basis.ie, which was developed to provide a single point of access to public sector information and services that are relevant to the business community. There was an average of 200,000 visits to the site in each of the last three years, with 2.25 million pages viewed.

Other activities undertaken by the BASIS project included the public services broker study which was commissioned by the BASIS project in 2001. This study examined the scope for delivering over the Internet public services to business. In addition, in 2001, the BASIS project procured and managed a joint project that defined a strategic framework for the management of content across the public sector. In addition, in 2002, as part of the development of the public services broker, the BASIS project carried out a feasibility study for candidate e-government services on a number of services identified through the public services broker study.

The BASIS project from its inception in 2000 to the end of 2005 cost €4.18 million and was funded through the information society fund. The BASIS project concluded at the end of 2005 with the cessation of funding from the information society. An internal review of the BASIS project, undertaken in 2005, concluded that the project had fully discharged its obligations under the Government's information society action plan.

In order to protect the investment made in a valuable resource to business, my Department will continue to maintain and develop the BASIS website. The Department will undertake this year a comprehensive review of the BASIS website to ensure that the service it provides continues to meet the needs of the business community.

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