Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 255: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department has a strategy to reduce the level of printed correspondence, communications, reports and other documents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12788/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department's policy is to reduce the level of printed correspondence, communications, reports and other documents issued by the Department and to make such documentation available in electronic format for the convenience of the Department's stakeholders and staff while at the same time having a reduced level of printed material available for customers of the Department who are not electronically connected.

The Department's website has, on average, approximately 30,000 external hits per week, thereby greatly reducing requests for printed material. All reports, press releases, the majority of forms, information leaflets and other documents are made available on the website, further reducing the need for printed material. The website is currently being reviewed to further improve the Department's on-line capabilities.

The Department has fully embraced the potential of e-Government and strives continually to improve and increase its on-line services. Some examples of on line services provided by the Department and its Offices are:

The introduction of on-line facilities for Redundancy Payments;

The use of an Electronic Fund Transfer Payments System for the Department's regular suppliers;

An on-line facility for filing annual returns and carrying out searches is available from the Companies Registration Office;

On-line facilities are available for certain tasks in the Patents Office;

On-line completion of Freedom of Information requests is available for interested parties.