New Information Society Commission announced

The Taoiseach today announced the appointment of a new Information Society Commission. It will be chaired by Mr Danny O'Hare, former president of Dublin City University (DCU). 

The new Information Society Commission will have a key role ins haping the evolving public policy framework for the Information Society in Ireland.  It will act as an independent advisory body to Government, reporting directly to the Taoiseach, and will draw on high-level representation from the business community, the social partners, and government itself. 

The development of the Information Society in Ireland over the last few years has been significant: 

An increase from under 5 percent to over 40 percent in the level of internet access amongst the general population (How the General Public is adapting to the Information Society in Ireland, Information Society Commission [October 2000])

A rise to 80 percent in the number of companies recognising that information and communication technologies (ICTs) are very important or essential to their business ( How the Business Community is adapting to the Information Society in Ireland, Information Society Commission [September 2000])

• The publication of the first Government Action Plan on the Information Society
• The liberalisation of the telecommunications market
• A fifteen-fold increase in our international connectivity through the Global Crossing project
• The linking of all primary and secondary schools to the internet
• The general availability of access to the internet through public libraries (Now over 1400 internet access points, up from 108 in June1999)
• The adoption by Government of the Public Services Broker model for integrated delivery of public services through multiple access channels.

In order to build on these developments, the Government agreed in June of this year on a range of measures including the establishment of: 

• a Cabinet Committee on the Information Society
• a complementary eStrategy Group at Secretary General level

• a new Information Society Commission

• and an expanded Information Society Policy Unit (ISPU) in the Department of the Taoiseach.

These new arrangements are designed to deliver a more coherent overall approach, at the highest level of Government, to formulation and implementation of policy on a wide range of issues that increasingly cut across traditional Departmental boundaries,said the Taoiseach in his announcement. 

It is clear that the Information Society agenda is central to our future economic and social development.  I am confident that the new Information Society Commission will play a key role in shaping Governments response, and in highlighting the public policy issues that need to be prioritized, he added. 

The new Information Society Commission is designed to complement the work of the Cabinet Committee by provided independent expert advice drawn from a broad range of interests. It will contribute to the formulation of Government policy by: 

• highlighting the challenges and opportunities presented by Information Society developments

• monitoring Irelands performance in its evolution as an Information Society, both nationally and internationally

• identifying areas of co-operation with other jurisdictions, including establishment of links with the Northern Ireland Information Age Initiative

• and establishing working groups, as required, to provide expert advice on specific areas of public policy development.

Annex

Membership of new Information Society Commission 

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