Declaration sets roadmap for European Activity in eGovernment
Patrick O’Donovan T.D., Minister of State for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance, has signed the “Tallinn Declaration on eGovernment” at a Ministerial eGovernment conference taking place on 5 and 6 October in Tallinn, Estonia.
The Tallinn Declaration, agreed by the European ministers responsible for eGovernment, aims to reinvigorate Europe's efforts in the area of eGovernment and digital solutions. It sets out a road map for pan-European activities in eGovernment at both the national and EU levels for the coming years and builds on the vision laid out in the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020. It fits in well with Ireland’s eGovernment Strategy, published earlier this year.
Speaking at the event, Minister of State O’Donovan said, “I am very pleased to be signing the Tallinn Declaration on behalf of Ireland today. The Declaration once again reinforces the EU and European Free Trade Area countries’ recognition of the importance of digital solutions to increase trade, create jobs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government services. I am particularly pleased to support the principles of inclusiveness and accessibility. It is important that we enable all of our people to engage digitally with public and other services and ensure that no-one who wants to use it is left behind.”
Notes for Editors
The Tallinn Declaration of eGovernment is being signed at a Ministerial Conference taking place in Tallinn, Estonia on 5 and 6 October 2017, as part of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Declaration builds on the vision laid out in the EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020, with the aim of being open, efficient and inclusive, and providing borderless, interoperable, personalised, user-friendly, end-to-end digital public services to all citizens and businesses – at all levels of public administration. It calls on the signatories and the EU institutions to follow a series of policy actions where appropriate and feasible. These actions are in the following areas:
- Digital-by-default, inclusiveness and accessibility
- Once-only principle
- Trustworthiness and security
- Openness and transparency
- Interoperability by default
- Horizontal enabling policy steps
The EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020
The EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 highlights the importance of the digital transformation of government for the success of the European Digital Single Market, by helping to remove existing digital barriers and preventing further fragmentation arising in the context of the modernisation of public administrations. It recommends that Member States observe 20 principles in order to deliver the significant benefits that eGovernment can bring to businesses, citizens and public administrations. More information is available here(https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/european-egovernment-action-plan-2016-2020).
Ireland eGovernment Strategy 2017-2020
The eGovernment Strategy 2017 - 2020 focuses on 10 key actions which cover a range of themes, including presentation of services, secure online identification, underlying infrastructure and appropriate skilling.
The 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 10 Actions:
- Develop a Digital Service Gateway;
- Maintain an overall Digital Programme plan, overseen by our eGovernment Minister;
- Develop our existing e-ID capability;
- Develop similar plans to facilitate business and location identification;
- Enhance our data-sharing capability;
- Introduce legislation to support our data-sharing ambitions;
- Continue to develop our Open Data portal;
- Transform our “back office” processes;
- Ensure appropriate governance is in place;
- Ensure our people have the skills and capabilities to help us move forward
The eGovernment Strategy is available here (http://egovstrategy.gov.ie/).