IDA Ireland wins top e-government award

17-02-2006

by Maxim Kelly

IDA Ireland reigned supreme at Thursday night's Irish e-Government Awards in Dublin, with the development agency taking home two of the main prizes on the night.

The Industrial Development Agency (IDA) was voted overall e-government winner ahead of 28 finalists across nine categories, and also won the best state body Irish e-government award for its website.

IDA marketing and promotions manager Cathriona O'Kennedy said she was "flabbergasted" at winning the competition's main prize. "An awful lot of effort went into our website, particularly on user information and accessibility. We placed a lot of importance on this e-government award and the energy we put in shows," said O'Kennedy, speaking with ElectricNews.Net.

Now in its third year, the Irish e-Government Awards, which are co-hosted by The Public Sector Times and the online communications and marketing agency, Elucidate, recognise innovative and pioneering changes in government service delivery.

Speaking before the awards ceremony, government Chief Whip and Information Society minister Tom Kitt TD said the risk-taking and resource re-allocation that public bodies undertake when initiating e-government projects drives economic growth across all sectors of society.

The minister said electronic reform of the Dail to improve the connection between parliament and citizenry was advancing, and pledged EUR1.02 million toward e-inclusion schemes targeting the marginalised in society.

"It must be remembered that e-government is a seismic shift in how our society functions," said Minister Kitt.

The minister informed the 250-strong audience of how cumbersome it was to draw up one of the 800 annual cabinet proposals, with each minister receiving a hand-delivered draft for consultation and amendment.

"Now all it takes is the click of a button," he said; describing the Department of the Taoiseach's eCabinet system which won the best central government award.

The e-government education accolade went to the State Examinations Commission ahead of stiff competition from universities and the Health Services Executive's collaborative learning platform. DCU communications lecturer Declan Tuite hailed the Commission's online archive of past leaving- and junior-cert papers as an innovation immensely useful to Irish pupils.

Cork City Council's electronic planning service won the best local e-government award for a "simple yet sophisticated" application of technology to remove the hassle of the planning process. Information Society Policy Unit director Colm Butler praised the initiative for allowing residents improved access to decisions of vital local importance.

Meanwhile, the Irish language prize went to TG4's standalone bilingual website, and Dublin Tourism won the best commercial state body award for the city's web portal.

In the accessibility category Kildare Web Services' Irish Roots triumphed for clarity and ease-of-use while the Revenue Commissioners received an award for best governmental intranet, RevNet, which allows civil servants access to specialised tools essential for their work across 130 locations.

Health insurers VHI won the best health sector award for its "well thought-out" mini-applications such as a step-by-step online plan to quit smoking.