Vol. 511 No. 6
419 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the status of contingency plans in relation to the Y2K computer problems in the event of a systems failure in his Department and all agencies under his aegis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25449/99]
My Department has developed a contingency plan to deal with any unanticipated year 2000 problems.
In line with a Government decision of 8 September last, my Department prepared a report on the plan for the Year 2000 Interdepartmental Monitoring Committee. This report, along with an assessment of the plan by my Department's Internal Audit Unit, was submitted to the Committee last month. The plan is being kept under review to ensure that all the necessary arrangements will be in place.
My Department has also been reporting to Government on a regular basis on the progress towards year 2000 compliance of bodies under its aegis. As part of my Department's monitoring role, the bodies have been informed of the need to develop contingency plans on a number of occasions throughout the last year. I met with the bodies earlier this month and again stressed the need for them to have adequate contingency arrangements in place. I also received assurances from the bodies that year 2000 issues would not affect the smooth running of any of the organisations during or after the Millennium changeover.
