Nora Owen
Question:2 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach the number of copies of the document, Implementing the Information Society in Ireland - An Action Plan, distributed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7290/00]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Information Society.
Nora Owen
Question:3 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach when he will introduce a programme to promote user friendly design for all websites in accordance with the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. [7994/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together.
The print run for the action plan on implementing the information society amounted to 7,000 copies. Some copies were sent to other Departments and agencies for distribution. For this reason, I cannot say exactly how many copies of the action plan have been distributed but I understand that most of the print run has been circulated by now. The action plan is also available from my Department's website. While data is retained on the overall number of hits to the site, the information cannot be broken down to the level of individual publications. As a result, it is not possible to identify the number of hits to the action plan.
A progress report on the implementation of the action plan was published on the website last July. Another progress report will be published within the next few weeks. To increase the visibility of initiatives being undertaken under the auspices of the action plan, a dedicated "e-Ireland" web page has been set up on the website. This page provides background information on the implementation of the action plan and reports progress on key initiatives and related issues.
Regarding design principles for Government websites, the action plan provided for the adoption of service-wide guidelines on the content, format and presentation of websites and for an interdepartmental group to be established to deal with these issues. On foot of this, an interdepartmental group, Web Publications Group, was established to progress this. The group started work in June last and the guidelines were ready in October. I launched the guidelines last November at a seminar for webmasters in the Civil Service. The guiding principle set out in the guidelines is that websites should be customer friendly and designed with the needs of users in mind. Information should be up to date, relevant and easy to find.
Other topics covered in the guidelines include content, presentation of websites, promotion of user friendliness, accessibility guidelines, Irish language and bilingualism. The guidelines are available on my Department's website.
I am sure the Taoiseach, like me and many other people, was appalled to discover that a Bertie Ahern website exists and shows hardcore pornography. Obviously, it is not the Taoiseach's website. Is he concerned that the name of this country's Prime Minister can be used in this way? Has he any proposals to tackle the issue? A few other Ministers have been targeted, most recently Deputy O'Dea. Does the Government have proposals to legislate against this?
I appreciate the Deputy's remarks. It is a source of some annoyance, if nothing else. It leads to a variety of mail and contacts from people all over the world who either believe or want to believe it is factual. It is not the type of mail anybody would wish to receive.
A number of people have offered to look at this problem. Legislation will not resolve it. The people responsible for the website have offered to let me buy it for $1 million and they remind me of their offer every few days. A number of groups are looking at how to deal with this problem. It is a worldwide phenomenon but it might be possible to do so. I have received correspondence on the matter from the United States where this type of thing is prevalent.
The issue is enormously complex and beyond what I can follow. However, I have asked my Department and some other people to examine how it can be dealt with. The protections that currently exist in both Europe and America are not effective.
Is there somebody in the Department assigned to draw down the material on the website each day? It appears that the Taoiseach is being kept up to date on its content. Obviously, it would be a time consuming exercise. How does the Taoiseach keep abreast of what appears on the website?
When will the Government be ready to notify the public that they can renew their driving licences, pay taxes and carry out many other such tasks by using e-mail and the Internet? The Government is recognised as being at the leading edge of technology. When will that technology be used to improve consumer services?
Lest there be any misunderstanding, some people in my Department and technical personnel from outside the Department have looked at the website to see if there is an easy resolution of the problem but they have not arrived at any. When I spoke about people keeping me informed, I was referring to people around the world who see the site and write or e-mail me about what is on it.
The site is not opened every morning to see what is in it?
Thankfully not. Approximately £30 million has been allocated this year for action plan projects. The Revenue online project will be ready this year. It is a state-of-the-art online project and has been highly recommended by businesses and trade unions. The REACH initiative which will provide the framework for the delivery of integrated public services is well advanced. In the General Register Office there is a project to undertake the modernisation of the civil registration process. There is also the development of the life events database by the NSSB and a number of awareness campaigns.
Under the action plan there is provision for approximately 40,000 training places for teachers and 20,000 personal computers for the education system. There are a number of initiatives which affect public libraries, media lab projects and awareness campaigns run by community enterprise boards. The action plan is assisting a number of organisations throughout the country under the umbrella of the information society. A Netd@y project, which is now complete, was run during the winter to give members of the public, community groups, active age groups and others an insight into the Internet, and it went extremely well. The members of the public, community groups, community bodies and active age groups gave an insight into the Internet. It went very well. A television series on technology, to be shown on RTE, will be announced shortly. Free Internet access is being made available in all pub lic libraries and kiosks have been installed in social welfare offices to allow clients access to it. An excellent FÁS jobs service is up and running on on-line information and significant resources have been committed to the ICTs in education. All of these have either been done or are ongoing. Some money, which was not spent last year, has been carried over, but that has been put into projects for this year. The Minister for Finance has also made it clear that he will not turn down any other projects in the public service that would help us to get ahead.
Does the Taoiseach agree that one of the most fundamental forms of intellectual property rights is a person's own name and that if somebody was to acquire the Taoiseach's or my birth certificate from the Superintendent Registrar's office in Lombard Street East and was to use them to acquire something else he would be in breach of the law? Does he agree that squatting on the names of individuals – his or mine and without the colourful additions – is a form of theft, of electronic piracy? Does he also agree that a co-ordinated response is required by the WTO, the international organisation to which this country is a member, to eliminate electronic pirates and not to engage, trade or purchase sites that are properly the ownership of people whose names they are, irrespective of what web they must be registered on?
Does the Taoiseach also agree that it is not beyond the bounds of political opportunity for the Government, working through the EU, the largest trading entity in the world, to raise as a matter of urgency with the WTO, which is the proper body to regulate these affairs, a treaty or legislation that would unilaterally return to all citizens of the globe the right to own their website in their own name? In view of this, does he not also agree that it should be illegal for anybody to attempt to register a website in his ownership with a name manifestly belonging to somebody else? This is the other side of e-commerce.
Given that the Taoiseach has become a victim, not because of who he is as a citizen but because he is Taoiseach – I hope for a short time – does he not agree that he has a specific obligation to raise this issue in the WTO with relevant organisations that have a right to do this and that they should not trade with these electronic terrorists and pirates? Does he agree that they should be rooted out of the system altogether and that the citizens of the globe should have the right to own in electronic form their own names, which has been stolen from them at present?
I do not disagree with any of that. While I have not been involved, this matter has already been raised at EU level and internationally. A number of groups are looking at it. I recently received a report indicating that no successful conclusion has been reached. A group in the US – not the WTO – has done enormous work on this over the past four or five years because people from all walks of life, including business and entertainment and not only those involved in public administration, have been targeted. Little has been done in the EU. I had an opportunity at the side of the Lisbon summit to talk to one or two individuals who have looked at this area.
I do not know to what extent the WTO has been involved. I will check into it. As more people use the Internet following a world-wide campaign to participate, it is remarkable that virtually anything can be done on it apart from protecting one's position. It is unfortunate.
The question on whether piracy in this area is always illegal has not been resolved. One of the arguments is that once people buy and take over a site—
It may not be illegal but it is not right.
It should be illegal, but approaches to dealing with that have been tried and tested.
I have allowed wide discussion on this matter and it has ranged beyond the issues raised in the two parliamentary questions.
I take it you, Sir, have not been taken hostage electronically.
To do the matter full justice, a separate parliamentary question would be required.
In terms of efficiency we might dispose of it with a final supplementary question.
A final supplementary question.
Would the Taoiseach not agree that the right to a person's name is a fundamental component of intellectual property rights? If one does not own one's name one owns little else in terms of intellectual property. Does he agree that the international organisation that vindicates intellectual property rights is the WTO, a body to which virtually every country, for the time being excluding China who will soon become a member, is the proper treaty based organisation within which to initiate a campaign? Does he also agree that the EU is best placed to act in this regard?
On Thursday we will debate the Patents (Amendment) Bill. Will the Taoiseach or the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment look at it to see if any provisions can be inserted to ensure that the matter is covered by legislation? There will be difficulties in policing it. For example, how will somebody know if a person in, say, Kathmandu decides to take my name or another person's name because they see it in a newspaper? Committee Stage on the Copyright and Related Rights Bill is ongoing. It may be possible to insert a section in either of these two Bills that will at least provide legislative protection to the Taoiseach's name, my name and other names.
I will look at both points and will consider any other suggestions. There is no difficulty in trying to press the matter internationally. I take Deputy Quinn's point about perhaps proceeding at EU level. People whose knowledge of the international web scene is greater than mine and whom I would trust have raised the matter with me. They have not yet found a way to proceed.
There is no existing legal way to proceed. It will be necessary to create a legal precedent.
The technical people will have to find an answer.
That is why I have no difficulty with looking at some of the options. I will look at the WTO suggestion and will raise the question of the Patent (Amendment) Bill with the Minister.