Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2004
63 Mr. English asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the total information technology budget for his Department since 1997; the initial cost of setting up his Department’s website; the cost of maintaining it on an annual basis; the name of the company/consultant involved; if he intends to improve the website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32749/04]
View answerThe information technology budget for my Department from 1997 to 2004 amounted to some €24.5 million. The Department's website was designed and developed by E-Blana Enterprise Group at a cost of €71,673.02, the bulk of which was paid in 2001 and 2002.
In terms of site maintenance, virtually all business units in my Department generate and update content for the website. Two members of staff have overall responsibility for maintaining the site, managing the look and feel and ensuring a consistency of style across the various areas. Maintenance of the technical infrastructure on which the site runs is covered by a wider support contract for applications and services on the same technical platform as the website. This contract is currently with System Dynamics Solutions.
My Department is committed to improving the website and is undertaking a number of initiatives to this end. A review of the site structure and content will shortly be completed and this will feed into the development of an entirely new site next year. In the interim, the site's home page has been revised with a view to overcoming the technical difficulties being experienced by some users. A series of other improvements have also been undertaken to improve the performance, accessibility, look and feel of the site. These changes are currently being tested and will go live shortly.
