Minister of State announces eGovernment Strategy 2017-2020
Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, has announced the publication of the eGovernment Strategy 2017-2020.
The new strategy has been developed to build upon the first eGovernment Strategy (eGovernment 2012-2015) with the aim of succinctly setting out the next phase for eGovernment in Ireland. The Strategy focuses on 10 key actions which cover a range of themes, including presentation of services, secure online identification, underlying infrastructure and appropriate skilling.
The new strategy also takes note of the contextual changes that have taken place in Ireland over the last number of years, such as technology innovation, a more ‘joined-up’ Civil Service, and developments across the EU, particularly in the areas of data protection, the eGovernment Action Plan and the Digital Single Market. It also recognises the progress that has continued to be made and the momentum that has been created by the Public Service ICT Strategy, and its 18-step delivery plan.
The new eGovernment Strategy is closely aligned with the Public Service Reform Plan and the Civil Service Renewal Plan. It also provides an ICT response to important themes addressed in Ireland’s Open Government Partnership National Action Plan 2016-2018 such as:
- Increased citizen engagement to improve policies and services;
- Increased transparency to better understand government activities and decisions;
- Open data to facilitate transparency and innovation; and
- Anti-corruption and strengthened governance and accountability, to ensure integrity in public life.
Minister O’Donovan commented: ‘The new eGovernment Strategy sets out our plans to be a leader in the provision of digital government services. We have made substantial progress over the last few years and want to build upon that. The expectations of our people are very clear in terms of more convenient, intuitive and joined-up digital services; delivering on these expectations will be one of my key priorities going forward.’
