I propose to take Questions Nos. 262 to 265, inclusive, together.
On 21 December 1993 the Government approved, in principle, the development of an integrated social services system, or ISSS, which would provide a more integrated approach to the administration, delivery, management and control of statutory income support services.
An interdepartmental committee was set up to consult the agencies involved and put forward more detailed proposals to achieve integration. The committee reported in 1996 and made several key recommendations.
The report recommended that the RSI number should be the standard identifier for the sharing and transfer of personal information between public service agencies, and that appropriate legislation should be enacted and security arrangements reviewed. The RSI number should be triggered by the registration of birth on the GRO computer system. Those recommendations have been implemented.
The report recommended acceleration of the computerisation of births, marriages and deaths and reorganisation of the registration procedures, as well as enactment of the necessary legislative provisions. That has been implemented following an extensive programme of work involving my Department and the Department of Health and Children.
The report recommended that the use of the social services card should be expanded to support customer identification, speed up access to social services, support new electronic payment options, and provide secure access to personal information. In addition, consideration should be given to including a photograph on the card, and the public sector should be actively involved with the private sector in the setting of standards for smart card technology.
Many of the legal, organisational and business foundation and infrastructural requirements for a card have been put in place over recent years, with the enabling legislation on the PPS number and public service card in 1998, the setting up of client identity services in 2000 and the introduction and legislation of public service identity in 2002, as well as the support provided to agencies seeking to adopt the PPS number. However, a card standard could be introduced only in the context of wider industry standards. The technology is just now maturing, for example, the present roll-out of financial services smart cards.
The report recommended simplification of the assessment of means, and the introduction of a central means database. In that regard, significant complications and variations in the policies and process in different agencies were identified. A central means database was developed for my Department and considerable background work done on shared means services.
The report recommended several changes to the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, including the introduction of an appeals system, its computerisation, introduction of a national application form and transfer of the scheme to my Department. Several recommendations made in that regard have been implemented.
The report also recommended that social welfare customers should be offered the widest choice of modern payment methods, with a household budgeting facility. In that regard, all customers are offered a choice of payment method, that is, either to be paid at a post office of their choice or by EFT into an account at a bank or building society. Payment by cheque is also offered as an option for customers getting short-term payments. Customers opting for a particular payment method do so on a voluntary basis having regard to their own circumstances and needs.
My Department also introduced a household budgeting service, which allows set payments to be made directly to a range of utilities on behalf of the customer, which is operated by An Post on behalf of participating post office payment customers. The report also recommended that, where possible, a single contact local point for customers should be provided, a customer-first approach adopted, and an electronic information system developed to support the dissemination of information.
In that connection, my Department is implementing a customer-central approach in its service delivery modernisation programme. Regarding a single contact point for customers, a multiple-channel — for example, on-line, telephone — approach is now policy. Information is electronically provided via my Department's website. In the context of its local offices, my Department has availed of the opportunity to co-locate services with other agencies where possible, and when the opportunity arises my Department is still combining services within its own offices.
Overall, the recommendations contained in the report are still relevant. In technology, the environment has changed, with technology such as EDI, or electronic data interchange, now superseded by the opportunities offered by Internet-based technology.
While the focus of the report was on integrating social services, it acted as a key driver for the development of the wider e-Government programme. A Government decision of July 1999 re-launched the integrated social services system, or ISSS, as a wider initiative spanning all relevant public services, to be known as the REACH initiative and with specific objectives concerning the development and implementation of a national framework for the integration of public services. That mandate was later expanded to include the development of the public services broker, which offers a comprehensive set of services to public sector agencies and the general public, including a portal offering a single point of access to public services, www.reachservices.ie, and a set of shared services, including access control, e-payments, forms development, etc.
The public services broker will offer Departments and agencies a cost-effective and flexible means of delivering electronic services to customers, as well as providing them with the means to access data and services of other bodies.