Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 16 Oct 2001

Vol. 542 No. 2

Written Answers. - Information Society.

Dick Spring

Question:

210 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland is ranked 20th out of 30 countries in a survey of leading information societies (details supplied); and the plans the Government has to ensure the improvement of Ireland's position in this important sector. [24158/01]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke)

I note the source referred to by the Deputy which is a year 2000 report. A year is a long time in the Internet world. Initiatives have been ongoing throughout the life of this Government to ensure Ireland's place as a premier information society.

This progress has been gauged in more recent surveys. A current survey by Accenture in 25 countries concludes that "the Irish Government can take a measure of pride in the finding that 65% of Irish executives believe that it is an exemplar of e-commerce. This was the most positive response in all of the 25 nations surveyed." Recent telecommunications benchmarking surveys conclude that Ireland is third in competitiveness for international leased lines among 13 OECD countries surveyed.

In 2000 the Oireachtas passed the Electronic Commerce Act. The main purpose of the legislation is to create equivalence under the law between electronic documents and physical documents. There are provisions dealing with electronic writing, electronic signatures, retention of electronic documents, concluding electronic contracts and the admissibility of electronic evidence in the courts. These provisions help remove any current legal uncertainties surrounding electronic transactions and communications.

Access to all the new information and communications technologies, such as the Internet, is crucial to our development as a fully inclusive information society. New technology has the potential to increase opportunities for everybody to participate in our society and economy. In December 2000, I launched the CAIT – community application of information technology – initiative which is aimed at opening the world of new technology and information systems to those in our society who are unfamiliar with and do not use the new technologies in their everyday lives. CAIT intends to harness the experience, local knowledge and relationships of the community and voluntary sector to implement demonstration projects which achieve this aim. Some £4 million has been provided for this purpose over the period July 2001 to December 2002.

A total of 71 projects were recommended for funding. These projects will impact on every county in Ireland and on a wide range of groups, including rural communities, the farming community, the elderly, the unemployed, manual workers, the Traveller community, people with disabilities and young people at risk. Under the National Development Plan, 1994-1999, a sum of 26 million euros was made available to support the roll-out of broadband to the regions. Some 13 broadband projects which rolled out nationwide were supported and have been completed in the last 12 months.

The figure allocated to telecommunications initiatives has been significantly increased under the National Development Plan, 2000-2006, to 200 million euros. A first call for proposals was run last year and, on foot of submissions received, I signed contracts at the beginning of the year which will result in additional investment in the regions in broadband infrastructure. A further call for proposals is under way.