The 'Report on eGovernment' was presented Tuesday by the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell. The report called the Government's 2002 target of having all public services delivered online 'clearly unrealistic'.
While highlighting the success of the Revenue and Motor Tax online services, it also pointed to several proposed e-government initiatives that were abandoned in the planning stages, including online applications for housing grants, passports, haulage licences, and driving licences. Difficulties with secure identification of applicants were cited as the main reason for the schemes not going ahead.
The 'Public Services Broker' initiative, which aimed to provide a single online access point for all public services, also came in for criticism. Although 'innovative and ambitious' the report said there was no examination of its feasibility and planning was 'weak'. The report concluded that "it is likely that Reach could have delivered the Broker system in a more timely and cost-effective manner had the governance, staffing and risks been managed more rigorously."
The report identified the lack of a current formal e-government strategy since January of 2006 as being responsible for a slowing in the momentum of e-government development. It also noted that Ireland's position in Europe regarding online sophistication of e-government fell from 1st place in 2001 and 2002 to 17th place in 2007.
It went on to recommend that funding for e-government initiatives should in the future be focused on departments and organisations that have to date lagged behind in the area of ICT instead of being concentrated on areas that already have a strong ICT background.
The report also recommended a shift in the focus of e-government planning from specific technologies to specific customer and business outcomes. It added that measurable targets and regular performance reviews should be implemented and that more cross-cutting projects (covering more than one department) should be initiated.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Stephen Errity
Quelle/Source: ElectricNews, 05.01.2008
