Welcome all to the launch of eGovernance.ie. This is a project that I have taken a personal interest in from its conception to its launch today and I am very proud that I have had the opportunity to be part of it from beginning to end. Often politicians do not get the opportunity to see a project through from beginning to end. A week is a long time in politics.
From the time I took over the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources portfolio I have taken a particular interest in instilling the need for good corporate governance in the public sector.
At one time, there were some fifty State agencies under the aegis of my Department with four hundred board members and directors!
You can readily see why it was necessary to have a strong governance ethic. As it is there are still up to thirty state bodies or agencies under our control. There are six commercial companies with one more on the way. Those companies are of vital economic and social importance to the country.
There are four regulatory bodies one of which, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, was established on 1st January this year. Seven non commercial agencies, eight Fisheries Boards, four appeals/complaints bodies and one North South body.
While my Department, along with the Department of Transport is one of the big two in terms of the numbers of State bodies under its aegis we are all very well aware that there are in fact hundreds of such bodies/ agencies in place throughout the State.
I quickly realised when I took over my current role that I had ultimate political responsibility for a large number of State bodies.
I was and still am determined to address this criticism by appointing people with the correct mix of experience, expertise and skills to enable them to fully participate in the business of the company in a timely manner in order that the business of some of the most important companies in our economy is not hindered or disrupted.
Fiduciary and other governance responsibilities are growing ever more onerous and I fully support the drive towards responsible directorship whether it be in the public or private sectors. In fact I believe that the public sector must show the lead in this and be above reproach.
It is imperative; therefore, that I fulfil my responsibilities to the Government and the taxpayer in ensuring that the right appointments are made to State boards under the aegis of my Department.
In order to do that I needed information - a lot of information. I needed information on Board membership, on current vacancies as well as what where the best mix of expertise and skills required of the members of each Board.
I also needed timely notice of any vacancies arising over the period ahead. It was that requirement for information that is the genesis of this project, which we see come to fruition today with its launch into the public domain.
So what is eGovernance? eGovernance is a web-based portal that on its launch to day contains the members of all Boards/Agencies under the aegis of my Department, information in relation to their terms of appointment and other relevant details.
The reason I strongly support this move is because in an information society I believe that it is imperative that we pursue a policy of making information readily available to the public in so far as possible.
In that context then the main objectives of the eGovernance project are:
- To track Board membership and vacancies online
- To allow Company Secretaries to update Board and member information in a simple and easy to use manner
- To improve efficiency and reduce the workload in the Department and in Companies/Agencies.
- To improve the information flow between the Boards and the Department especially with regard to appointments and terms.
And finally and in my opinion the most important:
- To provide an online service to the public for viewing current information on State Boards.
You will see that the policy is that Company Secretaries in each State body will have responsibility for keeping the information for their respective Boards up to date. This will mean that:
- the information will be accurate and timely
- no third hand information will be on the site
- there will be a reduction in workload for staff in my Department and in Boards themselves
During the development phase we received great assistance from Company Secretaries in the Boards and Agencies. In particular, we leaned very heavily on the experience on a pilot group of company secretaries who gave willingly of their help as we designed the system over time.
I would like to thank all of those who rendered assistance with advice and knowledge and helped us to complete this project in good time and fit for purpose.
Today we are seeing the launch of the project containing the information for Boards/Agencies under the aegis of my Department. However, one of the most exciting aspects of the project is its applicability to the wider public service.
The Taoiseach’s Department recognise its potential in this regard and have supported the project throughout. Clearly eGovernance would have enormous value if it was rolled out to all Departments and became a central library for Board Membership of all State bodies/agencies.
I will be working with my Department over the next while to explore potential opportunities for other Government Departments and Local Government bring their agencies on board.
I now declare www.eGovernance.ie open to the public. We will now have a short demonstration of the project to give you an idea of how it works and the kind of information that is available on it.
ENDS