The Government has a crucial role to play in the development of the information society. Electronic government is an opportunity to take advantage of the increased productivity, reduced costs and improved customer responsiveness that can be achieved by using these new technologies. E-government will also enhance the business community's and the citizen's access to government information and services and speed up standard administrative processes. It can also provide new ways to increase citizen participation in the democratic process.
An e-government strategy has been drawn up by my Department as part of its strategy statement for the years 2001 to 2003. This e-government strategy is in keeping with the principles laid down in the Government's action plan on implementing the information society in Ireland.
As an integral part of my Department's aim to deliver a quality customer service, we will ensure the on-line delivery of our services is customer focused and offers a speedy, low cost and accessible option for our customers who wish to interact with the Department through the Internet. Information on all of the services provided by the Department is available on our website which can be accessed at www.entemp.ie. We also recognise that the traditional means of communication will continue to be a feature of customer service in my Department.
The targets set for the delivery of these on-line public services will be within the timeframe of 2002, envisaged in the e-Europe action plan and agreed by the European Council at Feira in June 2000. To expedite this process my Department has engaged an external facilitator to prepare a report that will identify and prioritise those services to be delivered electronically. The report will also detail the human, financial and technological resources required to deliver our services electronically. The study will be completed by end February 2001.