IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

The fallout from the PPARs hullabaloo could be a malady that lingers for years. In the end, however, reluctance to invest in technology will only hurt patients.

A great deal of ink and airtime have already been devoted to the Health Service Executive's Personnel, Payroll and Related Systems (PPARs) project, which cost the taxpayer somewhere between EUR130 million and EUR195 million (depending on who you ask), compared to the EUR9 million budgeted for the project. More recently, it was revealed that the Health Service Executive had in 2005 spent EUR56.4 million more than was originally thought. It's also true that the dust has not yet settled on either matter; the Department of Health and all of the agencies under its remit will now face intense scrutiny when it comes to all new projects, especially IT projects.

{mospagebreak}There was a time when e-government was seen as one of the main drivers in promoting digital or e-inclusion. In fact many people still believe this to be the case. But it was very much the vogue about five or six years ago, at the beginning of the e-government hype. In fairness to those who were advocating this ‘solution’ to the digital divide, they did so with the best of intentions and on the understanding that e-government would be all pervasive — that putting services online would make them more attractive and thereby attract the digitally divided to the information age.

The Department of Agriculture & Food harvested a hat-trick of awards at Thursday night's Innovation Through Technology Awards presentation.

Prizes in eight categories were presented by An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, in Dublin before an invited audience of nearly 250 guests. The contest, now in its second year, recognises excellence and creativity in technology initiatives in the public sector.

Despite some successful examples of the efficiencies derived from e-government in Ireland in terms efficient means to file taxes, Irish SMEs are still struggling with red tape and bureaucracy when it comes to selling to the Irish Government, it has been claimed.

In its latest E-Business Survey, which covered not only Chamber of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) members but a broad sway of SMEs across the country, CCI commended the Revenue Commissioner’s online service as a well as the Motor Tax and Companies Registration Office, which showcase the potential that exists for cutting down on red tape through the use of digital technology.