Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 9 Dec 2003

Vol. 576 No. 5

Written Answers. - Computerisation Programme.

Eamon Ryan

Ceist:

212 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the amount his Department spent in 2002 on information technology software licences; the amount of that budget which was spent on the products of a company (details supplied); if his Department uses linux or similar open source software; and if it has a policy position with regard to the promotion and use of such open source software in the interests of cost savings or the development of a more transparent software industry. [29976/03]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

My Department spent €448,911.73 on software licensing in 2002. Of this, €239,124.76 was spent on software licences from the company referred to.

My Department has been using open source software since 1995. In that regard, the civil service Internet access infrastructure, which my Department has managed since 1996, was operated almost exclusively using open source software for mail relays, web and caching servers, operating systems and firewalls.

My Department, in line with Government policy and procurement law, operates a procurement policy that facilitates open competition, best value for money and best fit to requirements. Within that approach, different products are evaluated on their merits, including openness in terms of future procurement and where possible, avoidance of lock-in to a particular supplier. Accordingly, an open view is taken which in practice tends to follow standards emerging from the market. These open standards are critically important to facilitate interconnection of computer systems and exchange of data and information across these systems. Consequently, with respect to the costs of software, my Department considers the total cost of ownership, which in addition to the licensing element, also includes the costs of development and customisation, deployment, maintenance, support, upgrades, training and skills development.