Written answers
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Department of Finance
Departmental Expenditure
8:00 pm
Johnny Brady (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 206: To ask the Minister for Finance the amount spent by his Department and also by any bodies under his Department's jurisdiction in each of the last three years on the provision of Internet applications (details supplied); the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection [39126/10]
Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following tables:
Department of Finance
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 2008 | €2,528.90 (spent on updating some graphic design elements of www.gov.ie) | N/A |
Office of the Revenue Commissioners
The Revenue Commissioners continues to be at the leading edge of eGovernment initiatives both across the breadth of the public service in Ireland and worldwide from a tax administration perspective. This has been recognised externally by the fact that the Revenue On-Line Service (ROS) has won numerous awards, including a Central eGovernment Award and an Inspired IT Award. Improvements in PAYE service delivery won a Taoiseach's Public Excellence Award and an Innovating Government Award for Services to Business.
Since 2005 Revenue has treated the development of internet applications as an integral element of all business projects. Since that time many initiatives have been implemented that have internet application components.
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200820092010 | €3.081Million€3.121Million€1.088Million | Revenue employs strong governance, including the operation of a Programme Management Office, which enables effective and accountable management of projects throughout their lifecycle. All Revenue projects use the Revenue Delivery Method, based on international standards, as a comprehensive guideline for delivery of high-value ICT solutions.Revenue is committed to providing websites that are accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. Its existing generation of websites strive to achieve "Triple-A" accessibility as per the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. The ROS website has recently undergone a full audit by recognised accessibility experts and Revenue are fully committed to implementing the resulting recommendations as part of it's development programme.Revenue's next generation developments are in line with WCAG 2.0 standards where appropriate. To validate conformance against the WCAG 2.0 Level AA checkpoints, some services have recently undergone audits by recognised accessibility experts. In addition, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland has carried out detailed user trials. The recommendations of these audits and user trials have been implemented resulting in further accessibility improvements.Revenue's public facing applications are formally certified to ISO 27001 security standards.In 2009 Revenue was the subject of an audit by the Data Protection Commissioner. The audit found that Revenue was in compliance with all data protection obligations. |
Costs given cover Revenue's public facing website (www.revenue.ie ) and its associated transactional services such as ROS and PAYE Anytime. It does not include those back-office services that are also part of the overall business solution. Costs of internal intranet services were of the order of €480,000 in total over the three years.
NDP Information Office
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200820092010 | €8,136.50€2,600€375.10 | Amount supplied to Fusio Ltd for the hosting & maintenance of the NDP website. The contract was awarded on the basis of the website being accessible, fully secure and data protected, and on the understanding that Fusio would be available to provide back-up technical support. |
Office of the Ombudsman
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200720082009 | €9,500€39,000€36,000 | The Office's websites are audited every two years for accessibility and usability and an IT Security audit was recently conducted. The contract for website technical assistance is currently under review. |
Public Service Appointments
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200720082009 | €136,460€28,340€36450 | The Public Appointments Service (PAS) has developed the www.publicjobs.ie website to provide information on public service career opportunities, to provide information to potential candidates on the public service recruitment process and to handle online applications. The platform is widely used by the Civil Service, Local Authorities,Health Service and Education Sectors.We retained the services of the National Disability Association throughout these developments to provide quality assurance on accessibility of the site for people with disabilities.The security and integrity of the online services are regularly verified by external security experts.PAS complies with the Data Protection Code of Practice. |
Valuation Office
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200720082009 | €22,760€48,339€25,846 | All Website developments are in line with e-Government Requirements. Our Web developers were initially recruited by Tender process. There are annual performance reviews in place to ensure value for money and required results. Our website is hosted by Eircom on their secure data centre in City West. Our website complies with WCAG accessibility guidelines. |
National Treasury Management Agency
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200820092010 | €24,097€6,405€5,303 | All of the Agency's web sites are designed and built to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Open Standards for accessibility. In addition, in line with recognised industry approaches, the web sites are designed to assist sensory impaired users through the use of the following:An assistive accessibility technology (BrowseAloud) to aid users with literacy and visual impairments in the use of the web sites and a disability simulator tool (aDesigner) which assists web designers to ensure that their web pages are accessible and usable by the visually impaired. |
Special Eu Programmes Body
| Year | Amount spent on Internet applications | Supply details of the processes in place to ensure that such funds have been spent on good quality internet applications, in terms of accessibility, security and data protection. |
| 200720082009 | Nil€162,837€48,974 | In respect of the 2007 Systems Database the contract for the provision of the Systems 2007 database was awarded following a comprehensive procurement exercise which was conducted by Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland.Stipulations contained within the Terms of Reference ensured that the database would comply with all relevant and future standards, policies and directives in the areas of Quality; Information Governance (which includes data protection); and Systems Security.Ongoing monitoring of database is completed by DFP.In line with Public Expenditure Requirements, the SEUPB adhered to a robust procurement process for the award of this contract. The process comprised an open tender competition to ensure quality and value for money was achieved.Tender submissions were scored against a range of criteria including: Application Security and Effectiveness of the Proposed Solution.A number of mandatory stipulations within the Terms of Reference required that providers demonstrate adequate security levels and audit trails to protect the integrity of website and associated server. A range of additional security measures were also identified. It also required that providers comply with international standards and best practice in terms of accessibility. Standards adhered to include: WAI-AA and National Disability Authority of IrelandGuidelines. The SEUPB adheres to an Accessibility Statement which demonstrates the body's commitment to ensuring the accessibility of information sources.Accessibility and Security is monitored on an ongoing basis by the SEUPB IT and Communications teams. |
In relation to Special EU Programmes Body the Expenditure on the Internet applications is attributable to both the Department of Finance and The Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland.
I have been informed by the Office of Public Works that are currently collating the data requested by the Deputy and as soon as this process is completed they will forward the data directly to the Deputy.
Johnny Brady (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 207: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department or any bodies under its jurisdiction provide or oversee the provision of financial support to businesses, charities or other public service organisations that are directly or indirectly used to assist those organisations with their marketing promotion or service delivery on the Internet; if so the processes in place to ensure that such funds are used to provide good quality Internet applications in terms of accessibility, security and data protection [39129/10]
Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not directly provide or oversee the provision of financial support to businesses, charities or other public service organisations that are directly or indirectly used to assist those organisations with their marketing promotion or service delivery on the internet. I have been informed by the Special Eu Programmes Body that there are opportunities for businesses, charities or other public service organisations to avail of funding for the purpose of assisting with marketing promotion or service delivery on the internet under the PEACE III and INTERREG IVA Programmes.
Whilst funding is not 'ring fenced' or allocated specifically for this purpose, there are opportunities for projects to receive grant funding for internet related activities should they satisfy the defined selection criteria of the relevant Programme. Calls will be made for funding applications throughout the Programming period (2007-2013) as required and in line with normal public expenditure requirements, all applications are subject to a robust and defined assessment process.
It is the responsibility of the lead project partner to implement the project and therefore ensure that any accessibility, security and data protection requirements are met. That said, the SEUPB can and does issue guidance to project partners relating to procurement and tendering to ensure that quality and value for money is achieved. The SEUPB can also, where particular concerns arise, include specific conditions within the Project's Letter of Offer. The SEUPB or relevant implementing body will then monitor the implementation of the project against the conditions and outputs outlined within the Letter of Offer on a quarterly basis.
In addition to funding provided directly for the purposes of internet related activity, all project receiving PEACE III and INTERREG IVA funding must satisfy a number of communication and publicity requirements in line with European Regulation.
Relating to internet activity, projects are obliged to create a dedicated webpage for the project. It is the responsibility of the lead project partner to ensure that provisions for security and data protection are taken into account. However, the SEUPB, in its role as Managing Authority for the PEACE III and INTERREG IVA Programmes, does organise a number of communications and publicity workshops throughout the year which focus on issues such as internet development, dissemination of information, security, and management. As outlined above, projects will also be obliged to comply with a Procurement and Tendering Guidance Note in the purchasing of internet or related services.
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