The spokesperson added that REACH would release further details about the move on Wednesday afternoon and expects to announce the winner of the drawn out tendering process in the next few weeks. The agency also confirmed that June still remains the target month for launch of the PSB.
The first phase of the contract is rumoured to be worth in the region of EUR15 million. Accenture, HP Services Consulting & Integration and Siemens Business Services were also in the running for the contract. It is believed that BearingPoint's bid for the deal proposes the use of open source software to power the service.
The awarding of the contract was originally meant to be announced months ago. However, the announcement was delayed following a decision to review the process and assess whether it was providing value for money. That review has now been completed.
The Public Services Broker has been a long awaited element in the State's e-government strategy. The PSB will act as the engine for a range of proposed on-line service. It is intended to act as a single mechanism for access to public services to improve service delivery through traditional channels such as walk-in centres and the telephone and the new self-service on-line channel.
The PSB will link all public services by means of citizen's PPSN numbers. In order to connect public services, a common unique personal identification number is needed. For many years, the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) number was a common identification number for taxation and social welfare purposes. The Integrated Social Services Strategy adopted by the government in 1996 recommended the extension of the use of the RSI Number across the public service in the interest of improving customer service and the Social Welfare Act of 1998 gave legal effect to this recommendation, renaming the RSI Number as the Personal Public Service Number (PPSN).
Quelle: ElectricNews.Net , 07.01.2004
