Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2017
446. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the external company undertaking an audit of his departmental website; the cost of the audit; the timeframe for its completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45861/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra450. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the last time his Department's website was revamped or remodelled; the cost of same; if he or his Department officials have been consulted regarding creating one stand alone online Government portal website; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46010/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra451. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the investment in his Department's website since 2011 including total associated costs incurred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46027/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 446, 450 and 451 together.
No external company is currently undertaking an audit of my Department's website.
An overall upgrade of my Department’s 84 websites (including www.dfa.ie, www.irishaid.ie, www.dfa.ie/global-irish and those of Ireland’s diplomatic missions abroad) was launched in 2011 and completed in 2015. A further additional upgrade is currently underway to deliver fully responsive websites that enable us to better service the growing proportion of citizens who access the internet through mobile devices.
Core website development costs incurred by my Department over the period 2011 – October 2017 were as follows:
Core Website Development Costs
|
Supplier |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
Clear Ocean Internet Solutions |
8,228 |
14,760 |
24,846 |
9,840 |
14,760 |
||
|
Action Point Innovation Ltd. |
67,785 |
30,080 |
|||||
|
Terminal Four Solutions Ltd. |
61,045 |
147,295 |
85,757 |
54,366 |
21,049 |
32,539 |
65,054 |
|
TOTAL |
69,273 |
162,055 |
110,603 |
64,206 |
35,809 |
100,324 |
95,134 |
Certain additional web-related costs have also arisen in the context of improvements made to a range of online services to citizens offered by my Department such as Passport Appointments, Foreign Birth Registration and innovative new services such as Online Passport Renewals.
The additional amounts involved in respect of these services over the same period were as follows:
Additional Web Services Costs
|
Supplier |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
Action Point Innovation Ltd. |
173,379 |
132,566 |
|||||
|
Capita IB Solutions |
120,804 |
54,212 |
15,344 |
45,418 |
43,917 |
||
|
TOTAL |
120,804 |
54,212 |
15,344 |
218,797 |
176,483 |
As part of the eGovernment Strategy 2017- 2020, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has been working on the development of a Digital Service Gateway - a single digital point where citizens can easily access information about the Government services that are available to them.
My understanding is that this work, which began at beginning of this year, is ongoing and may involve the repositioning of existing Government websites and online services over time. This project will be managed and developed by existing resources within the Civil Service.
