Liam Aylward
Question:134 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the progress on the application by a development association (details supplied) in County Carlow for funding under the CAIT initiative. [17859/01]
Written Answers. - Information Technology.
The Community Application of Information Technology, CAIT, initiative seeks to fund demonstration projects which encourage and assist those in our society who are unfamiliar with, and who do not use, the new information and communications technologies in their everyday lives. It is intended that the community and voluntary sector undertakes these projects. Over £2.5 million has been provided for this purpose from the information society fund over the period July 2001 to December 2002.
In excess of 450 proposals were received by the deadline which expired on 15 February last. These proposals have been reviewed and 112 have been shortlisted for further evaluation. The results of this shortlisting process were posted to project proposers on 10 April 2001. The proposal received from the Borris Development Associ ation in County Carlow was shortlisted for further evaluation. An independent steering group containing representatives of a number of Departments and the private sector has considered the shortlisted proposals and made recommendations for funding. It is anticipated that a formal announcement of the successful applicants under the CAIT initiative will issue on 25 June 2001. The CAIT initiative is just one of many initiatives being undertaken as part of wider Government programme to ensure a fully inclusive information society in Ireland.