Minister for Finance welcomes Ireland’s ranking at the top of

the European Commission’s eGovernment Benchmarks

The Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Lenihan, today welcomed the publication of the results of the 9^th European Commission eGovernment Benchmarking exercise, Digitising Public Services in Europe: Putting ambition into action.

The report shows that Ireland is now ranked 1^st in Europe for the provision and sophistication of online services to businesses and citizens, for the provision of eProcurement services, and for the integration of services as “life events”.

In welcoming the report the Minister said, “I am delighted with this outcome.  It proves that the renewed focus by the Government on eGovernment since 2008 has yielded dividends in raising Ireland to the top of such an influential international benchmark.”  The Minister praised the efforts of staff across the public service who have worked diligently to achieve this result, highlighting that Ireland is now a leader in exploiting the digital economy. 

The Minister added, “While this is a very positive result for Ireland, we cannot rest on our laurels.  We view this very much as a starting point. As part of the Croke Park Agreement we have set out a vision for an increasingly integrated Public service which is leaner and more effective, the eGovernment strategy is a key element of this Transforming Public Services Programme and the report today shows the Government’s actions are working.

As set out in the National Recovery Plan 2011- 2014 the Government has identified eGovernment as a priority and I want to see Departments and public bodies continuing to pursue this agenda with vigour. There will be a greater focus on integrating the back-end systems of public bodies, on the use of shared ICT approaches and cloud computing, on publishing public service data, on implementing measures to secure greater take-up of online and digital services and applications, and on providing online facilities for increased collaboration and feedback with customers.  ”   

In conclusion, the Minister said “My officials will continue working with Departments and public bodies in implementing eGovernment measures to ensure the highest levels of efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery”.

ENDS 

21 February 2011

Notes for Editors:

1.      The European Commission has conducted benchmarks of eGovernment since 2000.  The benchmark is now conducted over 32 countries comprising the EU 27, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey, and is generally considered to be one of the most comprehensive eGovernment benchmarks conducted globally. 

2.      The full benchmarking report of the EU Commission is available on the web at http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/item-detail-dae.cfm?item_id=6537

3.      While Ireland was ranked in the top four in the early benchmarks, it slipped to a ranking of 17^th in 2007.  The Government introduced a range of new measures in 2008 to renew focus on eGovernment and approved a new eGovernment Strategy in 2009.

4.      The National Recovery Plan is available at www.budget.gov.ie/RecoveryPlan.aspx with specifics on eGovernment set out at Section 4.5 and Annex 9.