Vol. 529 No. 1
236 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his plans for the development and encouragement of e-government in 2001, and the amount of money included in his Department's estimate for this purpose in 2001. [1560/01]
My Department has identified a number of areas for the development and encouragement of e-government for 2001. These include:
an improved public information service and the expansion of the publication of information on Ireland via the Department's main website and by websites set up by the Department's offices abroad;
research into the development of an automated passport application cycle integrated with the REACH and OASIS projects;
showcasing Ireland through the deployment of leading edge technologies at the Department's offices in Ireland and abroad.
My Department has requested a total of £400,000 for these initiatives in 2001 which represents the initial phases of these projects and is made up of allocations from the administrative budget and the information society fund. Arrangements for the draw down of funds from the information society are currently the subject of discussions with the Department of Finance. It is expected that these projects will require further funding in future years.
237 Dr. O'Hanlon asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of hits recorded on his Department's website in 2000. [1575/01]
There are no composite figures available for the 12 months of 2000.
However, for the final three months of the year 2000, the number of hits on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs was 3,633,879.
