Red tape can often be one of the most time consuming parts of setting up a business like a restaurant or bar.

Getting planning permission is just the first step, with approval needed from the health and safety authority, the fire officer, local authorities for water and sewage and so on.

However a new Internet portal called Titan (Tactical Integration of Telematic Applications Across Intelligent Networks) hopes to make it easier, at least for the those in the south and mid-west, to go through this time consuming process of accessing government services.

Mr John McAleer, regional director of the southwest regional authority, said that through Titan a person can use an integrated online platform which allows them access to all relevant forms, from different bodies, for setting up a business, in one go.

Part of a European programme to advance the progress of the information society and e-commerce in European regions, the authority have been developing the portal over the last two-and-a-half years.

The site, www.titan.ie offers one point of access to a large range of business, government, educational and community services in the region as well as nationally.

Mr McAleer said that Titan, the technology behind the site was developed by the Microelectronics research centre in Limerick, has an in-built intelligence which can gather together a wide range of information into a seamless interface.

The site is still under development and a number of layers are being developed to make the search engine more intuitive.

With planning departments which are under-staffed and lacking resources, struggling to cope with the flood of planning applications and proposed development which has come with the economic boom, Titan may eventually be able to streamline this process.

Using computer mapping, users will soon not only be able to check what planning applications have been filed for any area, including their own, online but will be also able to see the location of the proposed sites on a virtual map.

Mr McAleer said new layers were being built so that people would be able to search for any proposed development within 100 miles, 10 miles or one mile of their house.

Eventually when Titan is further developed, people will be able to personalise the interface so that the system will send a user an SMS message on their phone making them aware of the fact that a planning application has been filed within a certain distance of their house.

Also on the agenda is making it possible for people to apply for planning permission in full online, using GIS generated maps and Mr McAleer said the eventual aim would be to enable people to avail of a wide range of services through Titan, including renewing motor tax, for example. Enabling general public access to services was one of the objectives of the National Development Plan and as part of the Titan programme 40 free public Internet access points have been opened around the region.

Nearly €80 million (£63 million) has been made available for such projects from both the European Regional Development Fund and from the Exchequer under the plan.

Titan is built on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with the GIS virtual mapping of the country provided by the Ordinance survey of Ireland.

People seeking a local authority house in a certain area within a certain distance of a primary school or shopping facilities would be able to enter their requirements on the system.

Using GIS mapping, Titan would then pinpoint the best located available house in the area to suit their requirements. The site offers links to everything from health and social services and tourism and travel to grants and scholarships and distance learning.

Funding opportunities, news, culture and heritage, links to a range of businesses and business services and sports, leisure and recreation are all covered by the site.

Titan has been developed in co-operation with partners in Sogn og Fjordane in Norway, the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in the Tuscany region of Italy. All these sites have links at www.titan.ie.

Mr McAleer said the structure of Titan means that it is easy for extra modules and parts to be added to the portal by different authorities, businesses and departments.

There are plans for Titan to also include a site on areas such as housing, sanitary services and health with development along the same lines as the planning and development section.

Plans for a housing site would include information on private, local authority and voluntary housing, as well mortgage allowance schemes, shared ownership options, housing loans and grants and tenant purchase schemes.

It is envisaged that eventually people would be able to enter their income details and the site would automatically calculate what rent they should be paying.

Titan hopes to get as many organisations and businesses as possible involved in the site and demonstrations of the ability of Titan to streamline many processes have been held around the region.

The benefits of developing Titan are clear. Previously if a person living on the Beara Peninsula in West Cork wanted to check out who had applied for planning permission anywhere, they would have to have had driven a 200-mile round trip to the local authority offices in Cork.

Now a person with an Internet connection, can do this without stepping outside their front door.

Plans are also underway for the further development of the information society concept in the region.

Funding is available from the EU for telecommunications companies developing infrastructure for regions but Mr McAleer said that under the schemes they will have to supply certain requirements.

The main criteria for programme assistance is that the companies provide elements that are of benefit to society, including access to healthcare services. The south west regional authority is in discussions with a number of companies on the issue.

Titan is part of an overall programme to use technology to drive forward regions which could be left behind because of being on the periphery or lack of access.

Using information and communications technologies projects like Titan to combat the marginalisation of people because of social exclusion, location or disability may help bridge the widening gap in Irish society.