Vol. 475 No. 2
55 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Finance the initiatives, if any, which have been taken at this stage for the alteration and adjustment of the programmes and software used in computers in Government Departments and other Government agencies in order that there will be a smooth transition into the change dating of the new millennium; the significance of such an operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4656/97]
The Department of Finance is currently finalising a circular for issue to Departments and offices on Information Technology systems and the Year 2000. This will ask Departments-offices to verify the Year 2000 compliance status of their IT infrastructures and systems.
For non-compliant items Departments-offices will be asked to draw up plans to migrate to Year 2000 compliance and to submit them to this Department to enable it to advise Government of developments. The objective is to ensure that all Departmental IT infrastructures and systems are Year 2000 compliant by January 1999, or earlier for those systems that process multi-century dates in this century.
An advice note on how to determine the Year 2000 compliance of IT infrastructures and systems, and on how to draw up a Year 2000 Compliance Plan will be issued with the circular. Some Departments, for example, Department of Social Welfare, Revenue Commissioners, have already completed this planning exercise.
Departments are also asked to take steps to ensure that the problem is not introduced in already compliant IT infrastructures and systems by adopting multi-century date standards and by procuring only Year 2000 compliant products-services. In this regard, the Centre for Management and Organisation Development (CMOD) of this Department made available to Departments-offices, in 1996, a Year 2000 compliance clause for use in procurements.
A special interest group on the Year 2000, chaired by this Department, was also set up last year, and meets each month. There are electronic mechanisms in place for the dissemination of Year 2000 information. CMOD will also provide, to Departments-offices, Year 2000 compliance information, as it becomes available, for products that are widely used in the Civil Service.
