Vol. 485 No. 4
100 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if the computer programmes in use in his Department currently use a two digit year code or a four digit year code; if it is the former, the steps, if any, being taken to examine each line of computer programme in use in his Department to convert two digit to four digit codes to cope with the identification of the Year 2000; and, if so, when this conversion will be complete. [23477/97]
101 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the number of lines of computer code in use in his Department and in each agency under its aegis. [23492/97]
102 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will give an estimate of the cost of converting and testing computer programmes in use in his Department and in each agency under his aegis for the Year 2000 problem; and the conversion from the punt to the euro. [23509/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 100, 101 and 102 together.
In consultation with the centre for management and organisation development of the Department of Finance, my Department has completed a Year 2000 impact assessment and compliance plan and has also set up a Year 2000 Project Board. It is estimated that the net cost of converting and testing computer programmes for the Year 2000 problem in my Department will amount to £1.57 million. There are 48 computer systems within my Department which contain approximately seven million lines of code. My Department has been liaising with each of the agencies under its aegis to ensure that they will be Year 2000 compliant. These agencies are currently in the process of compiling details of the effort involved in their case and will shortly submit a report to my Department. However, I am not currently in a position to report on the number of lines of code in use within the agencies under my control.
