Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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370. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps that have been taken, since the publication in March 2022 of the Government's Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland's Public Service (Connecting Government 2030), to enable public sector bodies to take a cloud-first approach to delivery of services - public facing and back office, which is listed as one of that strategy's key objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13623/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to have this opportunity to inform the Deputy of a number of developments that enable public service bodies to expand their use of cloud to deliver services.

Connecting Government 2030: A Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Servicerestated my Department’s guidance from the previous Public Service Cloud Computing Advice Notethat, subject to certain considerations, public service organisations should no longer decide whether to move to cloud for new or existing systems; the decision to be made now is what, how and when to move to cloud and which particular systems are suitable for cloud.

The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) previously published a detailed Cloud Services Procurement Guidance Noteto assist public service organisations in their procurement of cloud services. OGP has completed significant engagement with domestic and European stakeholders to identify possible cloud services procurement solutions, their scale and scope, along with the associated challenges. OGP has also conducted a detailed analysis of demand for cloud services across the public service. Having reviewed and assessed all potential opportunities, OGP is planning to put in place a central arrangement for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) by Quarter 4 of 2023. The first significant milestone in the delivery of the IaaS central arrangement is to conduct a market consultation with suppliers of IaaS in relation to contractual terms and conditions that will apply to any new arrangement. The market consultation process was launched on 12th December 2022 and is currently in progress.

I recognise that a cloud-first approach does not mean cloud-only. Public service organisations should and will take a range of considerations into account such as the risk profile of the data, where it resides, and other such issues, which may determine that use of a private government cloud, in a State Data Centre, is most appropriate for particular circumstances.

In that regard, the Government approved the development of a shared State Data Centre to deliver high-quality Data Centre facilities which, by complementing public cloud offerings, are fit for purpose and capable of meeting government’s requirements now and in the future. A contract is in place to build the Data Centre with completion expected in 2024. The Data Centre presents an opportunity for sharing of infrastructure enabling public service organisations to locate their ICT and digital infrastructures in a purpose-built Government owned and run facility. This will consolidate outdated and inefficient computer rooms into a modern, secure, green facility.

In addition, my Department is tracking developments at EU level in relation to policy and regulations in this area.