Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2014
299. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if any evaluation of the comparable processing cost of an online versus a hard copy application form has been completed by his Department; the estimated cost of maintaining a system to continue to accept hard copy applications; the potential savings to move a 100% e-Government application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26105/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy will be aware that the continued rollout of eGovernment services has been a priority of this Government and many services have already been moved online.
My Department is responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of eGovernment policy and for central eGovernment operations. Individual Departments and Offices remain responsible for the delivery of eGovernment services relevant to their own specific remits. In that regard, they are best placed to evaluate whether online service delivery is appropriate, and to assess the potential costs of maintaining paper based services versus moving to online provision of services; they do so as part of their regular planning activities.
Organisations also consider the needs and online capabilities of their service users when deciding on how best to deliver their services. This consideration includes an assessment of the need to continue using traditional delivery channels in addition to online provision.
Due to the diverse range of services offered by the Public Service, a generic assessment of suitability or cost by my Department would be of limited value.
The assessment of any service being considered for online provision may take into account a number of factors including
- user demand and frequency of the service;
- how easily the service can be moved online, e.g. technical difficulty, business processes, legislative considerations;
- how quickly it can be moved online, e.g. the organisation s readiness and capacity, the need to re-purpose content and update databases;
- how the cost of moving it online can be minimised; and,
- the resources and capacity required to move the service online and whether the department or agency can meet the requirements
The Deputy will also be aware that earlier this year I published the Government's new Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016. This new Plan outlines the key reform initiatives that will be implemented over the next three years. The four key themes running through this new Reform Plan are delivery of improved outcomes; utilisation of the reform dividend; digitalisation and open data; and openness and accountability.
The Public Service must make maximum use of new technologies, digitalisation and open data to deliver services in innovative ways. A new Government ICT Strategy will be published later this year that will address the use of new and emerging technologies, ensuring that eGovernment is designed around real needs and taking steps to improve the take-up of 'digital government'.
