Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when the document, record and information programme will be fully implemented in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5258/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Document, Record and Information Management (DRIM) programme is a key part of my Department's Modernisation Action Plan. The Department aims to have all documents, records and information easily accessible, usable and managed in a manner that satisfies all stakeholders. The intention is to eliminate paper, in so far as is possible, from both the claim and administrative processes and to capture, store, retrieve and process all files, records, etc. in electronic format.

The DRIM programme will result in significant benefits for customers and staff:

introduce efficient, effective and consistent business processes and practices,

increase productivity, staff motivation and job satisfaction,

enable management, ownership and use of documents, records and information as a corporate resource,

provide management with a more complete view of the operations of the Department,

enable work location changes — decentralisation, localisation, e-working, and mobile working.

This is a comprehensive programme of work and it is expected that it will take a number of years to implement in total and to realise the benefits.