John Bruton
Question:1 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the number of individuals in his Department working on the year 2000 issue who will qualify for special bonus payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1217/99]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Computerisation Programme.
John Bruton
Question:2 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 1 of 16 December 1998, the report on completing the SMI Programme of Action on Information Technology has been submitted to the Government. [1797/99]
John Bruton
Question:3 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will summarise the main points of the action plan, Implementing the Information Society in Ireland, which he launched recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2501/99]
Trevor Sargent
Question:4 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the number of extra staff appointed in his Department to deal with the implications of the year 2000 computer problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3475/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4 together.
The Action Plan on Implementing the Information Society has been laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. It presents a framework which identifies a wide range of measures considered necessary or desirable to implement the information society in Ireland. While responsibility for each of the action points typically rests with one or more Ministers, Departments or agencies, the work on any one action point could have a significant bearing on other action points in the plan.
The plan sets out action points under a number of headings. The first is telecommunications infrastructure. We made important progress in this area during 1998, with full liberalisation of the market from 1 December 1998, 13 months ahead of schedule. The plan envisages further progress during 1999, mainly under the auspices of the Minister for Public Enterprise, including the initial public offering of shares in Telecom Éireann, the sale of Cablelink, and work on upgrading our international connectivity and on extending broadband services.
The plan also contains measures on the development of electronic commerce and business opportunities. In particular, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the industrial development agencies will produce an action programme in this important area shortly. Under enabling measures the plan deals with issues such as providing access to the Internet in public places, such as public libraries, for people who do not have access from their homes or workplaces.
As we move more and more towards electronic commerce, there will be greater need for services such as digital certificates to enable people to communicate securely and with certainty over the Internet. The Department of Public Enterprise will work to identify suitable operators in this activity and to put the necessary legal framework in place. Implementing the information society will also require legislative changes in a number of areas under the responsibility of a number of Ministers. These include the area of digital certificates, admissability of electronic evidence in court proceedings, data protection, the Telecom Éireann initial public offering and preparing for digital TV.
A large part of the action plan concerns information and communications technologies and the delivery of public services. It covers provision of information using modern technologies, such as the Internet and electronic mail, and reaffirms the Government's commitment to greater use of these technologies in the mainstream of public administration. It also envisages a range of projects to provide public services electronically from a number of Departments and agencies. The plan also states that a detailed examination of deeper integration of public services, sometimes referred to as re-engineering or re-inventing Government, will be carried out during 1999.
Topics such as raising awareness and education are covered in a section headed "support areas where action is needed". The information society commission, for example, in conjunction with IBEC, is implementing a major campaign aimed at raising awareness of information society issues among small and medium enterprises. Finally, a section headed "taking the work forward" envisages that an interdepartmental group, supported by a policy development team, will monitor implementation of the action plan. In addition, the plan provides for further assessment of overall resource requirements to ensure satisfactory implementation of all aspects of the plan.
I trust I have given Deputies a feel for the contents and objectives of the plan. In agreeing the plan at Cabinet, I asked each Minister to take a close personal interest in ensuring that any aspects of the plan which concern his or her area of responsibility are delivered as part of the overall strategy to ensure that Ireland is truly a digital age country. Many reports have emerged in recent months which contain recommendations on how this should happen. The action plan will help to translate those recommendations into concrete progress.
On the matter of the SMI programme of action on information technology, the Deputy is aware from my reply of 16 December that a number of the recommendations contained in the SMI working group report on information technology were taken up in the work of the interdepartmental implementation group on the information society. It was the work of this group which led to the adoption of the action plan, so it is fair to expect that implementation of that plan should result in progress being made on a number of the issues identified in the SMI working group report.
The report contains a number of recommendations in relation to the acquisition and retention of skilled IT staff. In December 1998, the Department of Finance reached agreement with the unions on a set of once-off exceptional measures to retain skilled IT staff engaged in year 2000 work until that work is completed. This includes scope for re-assignment of suitable administrative staff to IT work and, where it is deemed appropriate, payment of a loyalty bonus in April 2000 to skilled IT staff. Four IT officers in my Department who are working on the year 2000 issue will qualify for special bonus payments. No additional staff have been assigned for year 2000 purposes. Consultants have been engaged where the required expertise in not available in-house.
The remaining recommendations of the SMI working group report, including those relating to staffing issues, will shortly be considered by the SMI implementation group in the context of completing the SMI programme of action on information technology. I expect that a report will be submitted to Government in early June.
I thank the Taoiseach for his long reply. Does he agree that access to the Internet in one's home will become one of the great inequalities among families over the next ten years? Will he further agree that those who do not have such access will be almost as cut off from modern life as people who do not have access to a motor car currently are from the benefits of modern life?
That will be true. It will not be possible to provide such access in homes initially. However, modern technology is developing at a fast pace and, like me, Deputy Bruton will be aware of the changes which have already occurred, particularly the increased linkage of the traditional TV set with the Internet. When the technology moves into a more affordable price range, people will be able to cope.
In the meantime it is incumbent on us to make them available in schools, community centres, public libraries and other venues.
Will the Taoiseach agree that a child who has a computer at home has a great advantage over other children whose only access may be a minute or two on the school computer?
I do believe that. That is the reason the Government, mainly under the Minister for Education and Science, has been driving technology into schools as much as possible. I welcome the fact that a large number of companies in the private sector are joining with boards of management in doing that. There are several projects in both rural and urban areas which have resulted in very modern computer rooms in schools. A child who has the opportunity to practise and build up his or her capabilities on a computer at home has a clear advantage over a student who gets only limited time in the school computer room.
In regard to the four members of staff who are getting bonuses to deal with the year 2000 problem, is the Taoiseach satisfied that each one of the software applications in his Department, not just the computers and the original programmes, will not only be corrected as to dates but that each of those applications will be tested in operation before the end of the year? Is the Taoiseach satisfied there will not be any breakdown in any of the software applications of any of the programmes in his Department as a result of failure to test all of them adequately? Has he received personal assurances on this point from his staff?
The work on the year 2000 difficulties in my Department is almost complete. All of the programmes and the software have been tested. Extensive tests have been carried out over the past months but a few jobs remain to be done. The alarm system and some other systems have to be completed – some problems have been identified in those areas. As of now, almost everything is complete but in dealing with the year 2000 problems one hopes nothing has been missed. However, in so far as everything has been double checked and tested, we are in a good position at this stage.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. He said that additional staff will not be needed but is there any area of work in his Department which will have to be cut back to allow the current staff deal with the year 2000 problem, as is happening in the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs in relation to supplementary welfare allowance recipients? If additional staff are not required, are the staff currently working on the Y2K problem in touch with the global 2000 co-ordinating group which has asked governments to become involved in this work? Does the Taoiseach's Department qualify for a red, yellow, green or black card in terms of its readiness for the Y2K problem?
Work in the Department is almost complete and it is hoped the remaining work will be completed before the end of May. Additional burdens have been placed on staff and some staff in my Department and other Departments have worked weekends. The staff are working to the co-ordinating group under the Minister for Finance who is dealing with the overall problems. We have followed best international standards and the Deputy will be aware that the committee is made up of both departmental and outside staff. The Minister for Finance has answered questions here about that work on numerous occasions.
The agreement with the general council of the trade unions was not just about money. If staff had specific knowledge of the year 2000 problem and were promoted they could stay in their posts and the other posts would be approved as supernumerary. If they worked in a non-IT post but had IT expertise, they could come back to the original job. I am grateful for the way the trade unions and the individuals with expertise have worked to make this possible. This has been done in my own and in other Departments and I appreciate it.
Since the Minister of State with responsibility for overseeing the Government's response to the problem is now a candidate in the European elections, does the Taoiseach intend to replace the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy? Does the Government intend insuring that every household in the country gets a checklist of domestic items which could be vulnerable to year 2000 failure, items such as alarm systems, washing machines, central heating systems and fridge freezers? Is anyone working to inform the ordinary householder that they are likely to be exposed to risk as a result of embedded chips in a range of normal domestic appliances? If so, when will householders get hard information upon which they can act? We are only ten and a half months away from the impact of this potential catastrophe.
Hopefully it will not be a catastrophe. The Deputy may have seen the television series in which the Information Society was involved in highlighting the issues. This was seen as an effective way for the Information Society to get practical advice across to people.
The information should be issued with every ESB bill.
I will look at more extensive ways. If I had been asked about this before I became more involved, I would not have thought that clocks, alarms, gates and so on would be affected. The Deputy is asking me if there is a way of making knowledge about embedded chips more widely available, and I will try to find out. At this stage the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, is still deeply involved in this work and he has displayed huge commitment to it. I have no reason to replace him at the moment.
He just wants a few zeros on his salary.
That is an indication of Government priorities.
No country or company is an island when it comes to this problem. Has the Taoiseach ensured that the Government has international links with groups such as the Global 2000 Co-ordination Group? I am told that Bank of Ireland and AIB are the only two Irish institutions involved with it and they are only on the mailing list. Has the Government established formal links with this group which is seeking Government co-operation around the world? What other international links are there to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the problem?
The Minister, Deputy Treacy, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, have worked closely with such groups. Many of the programmes to combat this problem were written by Irish people. Irish people have made a huge effort to ensure international co-ordination. I am not aware of red, yellow or blue cards, but we are co-operating.
Does the Taoiseach agree that if we are to give concrete expression to the information society there is a necessity for us to develop a leading edge digital park? The absence of broad band digital capacity has cost us jobs. It will have to be made available.
I do. It is part of the programme to which a recent Government decision applies. The Minister for Finance referred to that first during his budget speech, and the Minister for Public Enterprise carried this matter on in statements. The action plan envisages agreement with a global connectivity provider which should be reached in the first half of this year. There are discussions on the formation of a consortium to run the relevant infrastructure that should go in parallel with this. The nationwide broad band plan requires estimates to be made by the end of next month.