Vol. 515 No. 1
4 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 5 of 13 October 1999, the security issues surrounding the introduction of the Government intranet have been satisfactorily addressed; if the intranet is fully operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4027/00]
Consideration of security for the proposed Government intranet will be ongoing but at this stage the Department is reasonably confident that an appropriate security framework is feasible when the time comes to develop the system. The Deputy will appreciate the importance of deriving maximum benefit from the application of ICTs to the Cabinet process. At one level, this will apply to electronic transmission of documents but it also has implications for collaborative working between Departments in the form of proposals for Government.
A preliminary examination of the wider issues is currently being conducted by a project group in my Department comprising representatives from the Cabinet secretariat, IT and SMI divisions. In due course this will be widened to capture the full spectrum of experience relevant to the preparation of the business of Government.
It is not possible at this stage to put a timeframe on the system. This will be addressed when there is a clearer appreciation of the full scale of the project. However, it is likely that the project will fall to be addressed in a number of separate stages of which an early stage will be the question of secure electronic transmission of documents between Departments.
May I take it the intranet is not yet in operation in Government?
It is not. I hope it will be in operation next year, but it will not be in operation this year.
What implications will that have for Army messengers who physically carry memoranda for Government between Departments? If Government memoranda can be transmitted electronically, will there still be a need for that system?
We will need a White Paper on the matter.
All these matters will be considered. Two stages are currently being dealt with. Appropriate electronic security to safeguard documents is being examined in terms of who will have access and how they will have it. That is a major task in itself. The aim of the project is to exploit the potential of the available communications and computer technology to electronically transmit documents to streamline the consultation process. Our paper based system of checking and correlation is successful but dated. This involves a major examination. The idea is to link ministerial offices and designated agencies to the Cabinet Secretariat. Ultimately all of this will be done by way of electronic communication. This is being done by major world corporate bodies. If they can do it, we will in time.
Would the Taoiseach agree that one practice that has had to change in major world corporate bodies that have adopted this system is that of having a secretary for every boss? Increasingly, "bosses" have to type their own messages and that requires considerable reskilling at senior level in many organisations where people have not been used to doing that sort of work themselves. Is this aspect receiving attention in our Government which, like many Governments, is a very hierarchical system with a very large number of steps, probably far too many, on that hierarchy?
I do not disagree. There is enormous potential, but it will be a huge change. In some world corporate offices I have been in, they have been able to find a way around typing messages by using voice transmission. However, I accept that the present hierarchical culture will change. It is worth taking things slowly and getting it right, even if it takes a few years.
Is it the Taoiseach's aim to ensure that Intranet would operate only within Government Departments as defined under the Ministers and Secretaries Acts, or would it include subsidiary bodies or outside agencies? If so, how far out would this go? I do not want the Taoiseach to give me any information about security aspects, but is he satisfied that the technology exists to protect potentially sensitive communications from hacking?
Part of this is precisely to identify appropriate electronic security to safeguard such documents. The issue of access is not really an IT issue. It is an issue of administrative decisions. The concept is based on Government ministerial offices and their designated officers being linked to the Secretariat. That having been achieved, there is the potential, a few years down the line, for Government to give directives on certain aspects to agencies under its remit. There is no reason it could not do that, and it would be a wise enough thing to do. However, in relation to the transmission of Government documentation, decisions and memoranda, which is what we are talking about here, security should be tight.
People need time to think as well. There is a risk that communication will become so fast that people will not have the opportunity to think.
While looking at this question the other night, I wondered how we would deal with Parliamentary Questions in ten years' time.
We will just type messages to one another and they will be put out under freedom of information rules.
I have a feeling it will happen.
