Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the activities envisaged under the eGovernment related project measure listed in the Estimates 2007 which represents a 207% increase in expenditure in this area. [43243/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is responsible for a number of technology-related projects which are designed to improve the delivery of social welfare services but which also have a wider application and relevance for the delivery of services by other public service agencies in the context of the wider eGovernment programme. In this context and to deal with this work programme as efficiently as possible, a number of key related ICT programmes have been identified for investment over the next few years. These programmes are: The Customer Object project; The Public Service Identity (PSI) services projects; and The Standard Authentication Framework Environment (SAFE) projects.

The ultimate aim of these programmes is to improve the service my Department provides to its customers and to support similar initiatives by other Departments.

My Department is engaged in a strategic programme which involves moving from individual scheme based systems to a more customer-centric approach. This includes examining our customers' future needs in the context of improving service delivery and involves supporting improved access to the Department's services, by either proactively contacting customer for example, when they are coming up to pension age. It also opens up opportunities to use other contact channels such as the phone or online channels.

The Customer Object project will see the redevelopment of the Department's Central Records System and other systems and their migration from the current ICT platform to a new platform. It is planned to support business improvements in the areas of customer registration and claim processing with these technical enhancements. To illustrate the potential of this programme, early work in this area resulted in the automation of the child benefit application process, eliminating the need for multiple form-filling and visits to offices.

The purpose of the PSI Services project is to make a subset of relevant customer related information available to appropriately authorised agencies. Among the advantages to the customer of this change is a reduced need to supply information repeatedly when seeking public services, while advantages to the agencies concerned include increased certainty regarding the identity of the person they are dealing with. The initial project, delivered through Reach, underpins the use of the PPS Number for the PAYE On-line initiative introduced earlier this year by the Revenue Commissioners. It is proposed to carry out further work to make similar facilities securely available to other agencies.

My Department is also responsible for the issue of the Public Service Card. It is working with the Department of Finance to develop a framework for the deployment of public service cards. This programme of work is known as SAFE (Standard Authentication Framework Environment). It is planned to issue new cards to replace the existing Social Welfare Card, commencing in late 2007, primarily to beneficiaries of the free travel scheme. The new card will include a number of improvements and better security features.