Recent league tables still rate Ireland's broadband penetration below the European Union average, and interminable delays in sorting local loop unbundling, particularly in relation to pricing, were seen as having aggravated the problem.
Bord Gáis was named the overall winner on the night for its website www.bordgaisenergysupply.ie.
The Irish eGovernment Awards, jointly run by the Public Sector Times newspaper and web usage and content experts Elucidate, are now in their sixth year.
This is just one proposal from a 10-point plan, entitled Developing a Knowledge City Region, published by the body on Monday.
Other proposals include: the introduction of a VAT-free scheme for the purchase of PCs to stimulate a technology-literate society, key government services for business to be made available online only and the implementation of an e-government plan for all government departments and local authorities, and the introduction of SME 'Knowledge Acquisition Grants' to encourage R&D among smaller firms, as well as the expansion of the 'Innovation Voucher' scheme.
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At a ceremony in Dublin's Four Seasons Hotel, Bord Gais picked up two awards as it claimed the title of overall winner and the award for Best Commercial State Body for its website bordgaisenergysupply.ie. The website, which allows users to pay their bills online and submit meter readings online, was described by the judges as being in most cases "superior to almost any other transactional website. It is intuitive, fully functional and of great benefit to both the organisation and to its customers. It is a credit to those who led the project."
The Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, today described the target of having all public services capable of on-line delivery by 2005 as "clearly unrealistic", and described the roll-out as "average".
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