Ireland lags behind for e-gov services: Ireland is slipping behind its European counterparts in the provision of online public services, according to a new survey carried out by CapGemini on behalf of the European Commission. Ireland has slipped from 12th place last year to 15th place this year in the league table of online public service availability, lagging behind the top six countries: Austria, Estonia, Malta, Sweden, Norway and the UK. The study shows that 50 percent of a range of 20 basic public services for citizens and businesses -- including income tax, social security benefits and car registration -- are available online in Ireland, the same level as two years ago. This year's survey also ranked Ireland 11th in terms of the maturity and sophistication of its online public services, down from fourth place last year. However, Ireland scored highly in the online sophistication stakes, with a score of 84 percent, compared with the European average of 75 percent.
Ireland's e-voting system criticised in report: Software integral to the Irish government's EUR52 million electronic voting system should be scrapped, according to the independent Commission on Electronic Voting (CEV). Although a report by the CEV concludes that the actual machines designed for citizens to cast their votes on are robust, reliable and well-suited to their purpose, it labelled some of the software intended for collating votes "inadequate" and recommended its complete replacement. The CEV recommended that specific areas for attention include those aspects of the embedded software that govern the user interface of the voting machine and those that govern data security measures on the programming/reading unit and ballot module peripheral. The Government decided not to introduce the voting machines to polling booths around the country two years ago after a preliminary report by the CEV found insufficient testing had been done to assess their suitability. Read more about this story on ENN.
NI council pilots Windows Mobile: Craigavon Borough Council in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, is piloting Windows Mobile 5. Systems integration firm 4sol managed the project for the council, which involved equipping directors and councillors with handheld devices running Microsoft's mobile operating system. "These devices receive e-mails in real time but, as the software comes from Microsoft, people are able not only to read attachments, but also edit them while still on their mobile device. This is not available on other competing 'push' technologies," said John Lennon, managing director of 4sol. Device security is an added benefit of the technology, according to Lennon. "Handheld users connect using a single sign-on. Inactive periods force users to enter a PIN and remote wipe-out is pre-programmed, allowing for theft or multiple miss-entries to trigger this safety requirement."
Bristol signs education ICT deal: Bristol City Council in the UK has announced an STG8.9 million deal with Northgate Information Solutions to help integrate IT into education in schools. The Northern Ireland firm, which specialises in the area of education ICT, will provide the council with ICT services over five years as part of a contract under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Northgate says the deal is the first integrated ICT contract under the UK government's flagship multi-billion pound programme, which is designed to bring about transformational change in the provision of secondary education. Under the agreement, Northgate and the council will work together in an effort to customise the traditional methods of learning to provide an interactive environment for students, to improve access to ICT for all students, and to break down the barriers that exist between schools and local communities in order to promote lifelong learning.
Oman gears up to launch e-gov portal: The government of Oman has said it expects its much-publicised e-services portal to be online by the end of this year or early next year, reports the Times of Oman. A tender for the implementation of the e-services gateway, known as UBAR, "will be floated soon," according to Dr Salim bin Sultan Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of the Information Technology Authority. Among the e-government structures that are expected to be introduced in the future are a converged IT network, a central government "nervous system", a national registration system, an e-payments infrastructure, and geographical information systems. The eOman initiative's stated aim is to create a knowledge society whereby citizens can carry out tasks online such as paying bills and taxes, accessing key information and registering companies.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Sylvia Leatham
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 05.07.2006
