Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 93: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of times his Department's website has been inaccessible to the public since 1 January 2007; if he is satisfied with the speed of the website and the ease with which information can be downloaded from the website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10420/07]

Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of times in the past year that the Foreign Affairs website has been taken down due to technical difficulties, rendering the information inaccessible to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10418/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 157 together.

There were no recorded instances during 2006 where the Department's website was taken down due to technical difficulties. Since the beginning of 2007, the Department's website has been inaccessible to the public on two occasions. The first occasion was for a period of approximately one hour on 8 February, to allow for essential maintenance and for updates to be installed. During the period to 8 to 13 February, the site was operating at a reduced capacity and users experienced a slower speed. In order to address these problems, the site was again inaccessible on 13 February. It was restored to full working order the following day and has been operating satisfactorily since then.

The Department launched a new, redesigned website last December. It incorporates a number of new features including a facility allowing passport applicants to track the progress of their applications on-line. The new site also features regularly updated travel advice on a country-by-country basis and more accessible information on all aspects of Ireland's foreign policy. The website is hosted by the Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) which will shortly have a server dedicated exclusively to the Department's website.

The new website marks a significant advance on the previous version and, apart from the one week period in February, I am satisfied that the site is operating satisfactorily in terms of speed and ease of access for information download.