Vol. 518 No. 3
252 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if a qualified person is employed in the Department to develop information communication technology systems for use in the Department, on an inter-Department basis and outwards to conduct business with the general public and public representatives. [11660/00]
My Department is currently implementing a major IT programme both for the core Department and in respect of the agencies under the aegis of the Department. These developments include the implementation of a secure, web-enabled infrastructure which, in addition to supporting operational, financial and administrative systems, will also be used to allow for electronic transfer of information within the justice area, links to the other Government Departments and future access to systems for the general public as appropriate.
The systems are, in the main, developed by private sector computer companies under the control of the Department by way of programme and project boards with membership from both the IT and business areas of the Department-agencies. Most of the development on these systems began before the e-Government initiative but the software platforms are flexible enough to allow for the implementation of e-Government concepts as they evolve.
A related project is also ongoing to develop and maintain a common data model and to ensure electronic transfer of information, identify and promote integration and interworking possibilities between the various elements of the criminal justice system. In addition, provision of services to the general public has been part of the IT strategy of my Department for the past three years. Therefore, where it is considered that systems may in future require an electronic interface with the public, the systems procured or developed must be technically capable of being extended in this way without major rewriting. This has been part of the evaluation criteria for systems selection since 1998.
In order to progress the integration of systems within the justice arena and to identify how such systems may interface with the general public in due course, an application to fund a scoping study in the Garda, courts, prisons and departmental areas was made to the electronic Government initiatives fund under the auspices of the Department of the Taoiseach. Approval, in principle, has been obtained and work has just commenced.
In addition, on the Courts Service side, a number of specific projects have been identified and a scoping study to determine the extent of these projects is also under way. Examples of such projects include lodgment of documents by solicitors electronically and small claims courts applications by members of the public. In respect of the Land Registry the first phase of an on-line electronic search service of property folios has been implemented.
