Ireland in top ten for online government services

Ireland’s online government services are ranked among the top ten in the world according to new study published today.

The report carried out by technology consultant group, Accenture, surveyed eGovernment activity in 23 countries and analysed over 160 national government services.

Governments are graded on how successful they have been in moving their services online.

Canada was found to have outperformed all others in eGovernment innovation and penetration with Singapore in second and the US in third. Ireland improved its ranking this year, moving up from 13th to 10th place, with an overall Internet penetration rate of 31 per cent.

The study found that of 120 services for which the Irish Government is responsible, 107 are available online to some degree, giving a Service Maturity Breadth rating of 89.2 per cent. This is marginally above the global average of 85.8 per cent.

Accenture said: "Ireland’s result reflects gains made in the coverage of its online services to citizens and businesses."

Ireland was ranked second in the world for its customer relationship management with the FAS website, which enables citizens to submit resumes online, achieving a maximum score in this category.

A new employment service for public sector jobs - www.publicjobs.ie- set up by the Office of the Civil Service in February was also singled out for praise.

Overall the report found national governments throughout the world have significantly improved their online service delivery, increasing the range and sophistication of eGovernment services for citizens and businesses alike.

Managing partner for Accenture’s global eGovernment services, Ms Vivenne Jupp, said: "As eGovernment programs mature, we’re seeing clearly articulated strategies that recognise very real barriers and pragmatically state why eGovernment is critical to economic and social development."