Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2015
524. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied with the role his Department is playing in driving e-Government strategy through better local Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3588/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Local Government ICT Strategy Implementation Plan identifies priority ICT enabled projects for the sector in areas such as shared services and online services. The plan also identifies the need for enabling technologies and infrastructure which would be used across all of these projects. The local government sector has delivered major improvements in customer service, efficiency and effectiveness over the last number of years. This has been achieved by allowing customers to transact their business online, automating the interactions between local government and other public service organisations and by automating internal business processes to free up more staff to provide front line services.
Local authorities have enabled their customers, be they individual citizens or businesses, to search for information and transact their business online for many years.
Examples of this include :
- Local Government Portal to show the services available and portals at service level where appropriate, for example, a planning portal,
- Application forms available online,
- Online planning applications, via the Building Control and Management System (BCMS), are available in some local authorities and are being rolled out across all local authorities. This is an information technology-based system developed to facilitate the electronic administration of building control matters by Building Control Authorities,
- Online Payments (Household Charge, NPPR),
- Voter Registration (checktheregister.ie),
- Latest information on traffic, road works, planning etc,
- Register a fault (i.e. Fixyourstreet.ie),
- Social Media – providing information in new ways to the customer,
- Library Service - providing internet access for the public and providing access for the public to their own library services on line.
Local authorities share data and have integrated processes with other public service organisations in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness and so improve customer service either directly or indirectly.
Examples include:
- Local authorities provide timely information to my Department to support policy making based on the most current information
- Automated application and approval processes between local authorities and my Department
- Automated links with the Department of Social Protection, the Environmental Protection Agency , Irish Water, etc.
Local authorities have automated their own business processes to achieve efficiency and effectiveness and so improve customer service either directly or indirectly. Examples include the following:
- Employee self-service portal for payroll, HR and pension services.
- Business systems to automate all significant business processes. The MyPay system is a centralised payroll system currently being rolled out across all local authorities.
- Customer Relations Management systems to efficiently handle customer interactions.
- Social media and website to proactively provide information to customers.
Further improvements continue to be made in each of these areas and these are part of a strategy of continuous modernisation within the sector.
