Written Answers. - Electronic Government.
Rory O'Hanlon
Question:
1030
Dr. O'Hanlon
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
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.
[1569/01]
The development and encouragement of electronic Government is a central theme in all IT related activity in my Department and the agencies under the auspices of my Department. Across the justice sector it is estimated that a budget of approximately £2.6 million has been provided to carry out various e-Government related projects in 2001.
The following is an outline of the principal areas and projects. With regard to the development of electronic Government strategies, my Department and all its major agencies will have finalised their plans in the early part of the year. For example, the Courts Service is currently in the process of developing its first five year Information Technology Strategic Plan, "e.Courts", and the provision of electronic services to both business and the citizen is being comprehensively addressed in the plan. The plan, which will be completed by early February, envisages that the website will form the basis for a courts portal which will provide regulated and secure electronic access to courts information and services within the eBroker framework approved by Government last year.
The Land Registry and Registry of Deeds has also recently published its Electronic Service Delivery Strategy for 2001-04.
A similar approach to the linkages to the eBroker framework is being taken in other areas of my Department.
Anticipating the need to develop specific e-Government strategies, the provision of services to the general public has been a core part of the overall 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 re-writing. This has been part of the evaluation criteria for systems selection since 1998.
With regard to website development-information dissemination, it is recognised that the first step towards electronic Government is the full availability of information in a timely manner. A number of developments are taking place in the area of website development which will ensure that, in the first instance, information on all areas of the Department and its agencies is readily available. For example the Department's own website is being redeveloped and will be launched again shortly. It is being designed with a view to easing the method of publication thus ensuring that material is available on the web simultaneously with its release on paper. In addition, its existing content will be expanded to contain full information of all schemes operated by the Department together with application forms for electronic download as appropriate.
The Courts Service, which launched its new website in November 1999, provides useful information in relation to the operations and services provided across all court jurisdictions. The Legal Diary is available on the website on a daily basis and provides a very useful service for the legal profession. Plans for 2001 include the enhancement of the existing site, the addition of several new sections and the provision of a judgments database.
The Garda Síochána recently relaunched their website and it is planned to extend a website presence to all associated agencies of the Department before the end of 2001. In addition, my Department is actively participating in central e-Government initiatives such as those taking place in the area of tendering and public procurement. As an initial step, it is planned that all tenders emanating from the Department will be available in electronic format.
With regard to specific major projects, in addition to the ongoing work on website and information dissemination, a number of major projects will be undertaken in 2001. Because of the nature of the Department's operations, it is considered that the Courts Service and Land Registry and Registry of Deeds represent the area which will most likely have greatest scope of electronic dealings with the public. Some of these specific projects are outlined above.
The Courts Service has commissioned initial scoping reports to examine the feasibility of introducing pilot projects relating to the electronic payment of fines, electronic filing of court documents and to provide limited electronic access to the Criminal Case Tracking System. This work is ongoing and it is expected that these reports will be finalised by the end of February 2001. The Courts Service is also collaborating with my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in relation to a pilot project which is investigating the feasibility of implementing an on-line small claims procedure. The steering committee for the pilot project of the on-line small claims procedure, chaired by the President of the District Court, held its first meeting in December 2000.
The Land Registry and Registry of Deeds has completed its flagship project, which allows for organisations to have on-line access to its existing computerised database over the Internet. I understand that this was the first e-Government project to go live in the Civil Service. The project has particular benefits for the legal profession, professional law searching firms, commercial property companies and the law Departments of public and private corporations.
As a precursor to the introduction of an electronic registration system, the Land Registry has embarked on an extensive programme of elec tronically capturing and indexing its existing paper documents and to develop new systems for extensive on-line searching and record provision. This project will convert the entire paper folio and paper filed plan base to electronic format so that it can be made available through the internet in a timely and cost effective manner. This is a very challenging project with a requirement to capture over three million unique legal records which gives rise to approximately eight million imaged pages in total. The project is currently the subject of a tender competition to complete the necessary technical, imaging and indexing work.
It will be expected that a number of other projects will commence in 2001 when the various e-Government strategies have been finalised.
With regard to the integration of the Criminal Justice System, 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. Because of the nature of this project, in that it provides the underlying infrastructure for all IT systems, it is neither possible nor appropriate to determine how much would be attributed to electronic Government. Most of the development 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.
With regard to disability issues, my Department has a particular concern that its own sites, other Government sites and sites generally should be increasingly user friendly for the disabled. Following a workshop late last year the Department will be carrying forward work in this area during 2001.
The provision of services by electronic means is an integral part of my Department's IT strategies and service delivery methodologies. My Department will continue to develop and pursue its e-Government strategies both within the Department and its agencies and as an active participant in the various ongoing cross Government initiatives.
