Silicon Republic - Government

3 is named preferred tenderer for National Broadband Scheme

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:37:00 +0000

Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary 3 Ireland has been named the preferred tenderer for the government contract to complete the rollout of broadband in Ireland.

EU 'Blue Card' scheme could solve skills problem

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:00:00 +0000

A European Union scheme modelled on the US Green Card system could take the pressure off economies suffering from skills shortages.

Europe's digital library crashes

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Europeana, the massive EU digital library of everything from European literature to art, crashed after it received traffic of the magnitude of 10 million visitors an hour.

Europe's digital library open for culture vultures

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:23:00 +0000

Europe's internet users can now access more than two million books, maps, recordings, photos, documents, paintings and films from national libraries and cultural institutions at a single internet site.

Urgent need to re-think Irish public sector attitudes

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:00:00 +0000

At a time when the country should be looking to steer clear of recession, Irish Government bodies and civil servants are by instinct bureaucratic rather than innovative, the president of Dublin City University, Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski warned last week.

The electronic medicine cabinet is nearer than you think

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:20:00 +0000

An electronic barcode system could revolutionise drugs prescriptions and drive major savings on a nationwide basis, it emerged today.

CRM rollout is automatic for the people

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Microsoft and Calyx have deployed a new customer relationship management (CRM) system for Eurofound that enables the European foundation's 15,000 users to edit their own details on the CRM database.

Taoiseach opens roundtable discussion

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:00:00 +0000

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen TD last week opened the Economist Conference's First Business Roundtable with the Government of Ireland on the topics of "real strengths and new challenges".

Green energy tech strategic to Ireland's economic future, says Minister Ryan

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Global investment in clean energy reached record levels of US$148bn, and the Irish Government has plans to position Ireland at the centre of innovation in this field, it emerged yesterday.

Moving services online could save Irish Government millions

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

The recent medical card debacle could easily have been avoided if the Irish Government had moved more services online in order to save money.

Digital X-ray a first for Irish hospitals

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

A digital X-ray imaging system has been deployed at Tullamore and Mulllingar hospitals, and is achieving efficiencies by allowing doctors and consultants to work remotely instead of waiting on film.

Government launches geographic data portal

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

The Government has created an online portal that will allow the public to search multiple spatial databases for geographic mapping data held by a number of different departments.

Asking what people want is the way to bridge the digital divide

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:00:00 +0000

For e-government to succeed in Ireland, it must begin with social inclusion.

EU to probe Google and Yahoo! ad deal

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:40:00 +0000

The European Commission is to launch an investigation into the proposed advertising tie-up deal between two of the internet's biggest players, Google and Yahoo!

EU moves to bring down the price of IT products

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:00:00 +0000

The European Commission has presented a plan to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that could see custom duties on certain IT products removed.

Irish courtrooms go high-tech with Damovo's €1m deal

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:32:00 +0000

The days of the jury leaning forward and squinting as a single TV and video player are wheeled in to display evidence are numbered, following a deal between the Irish Courts Service and business communications firm Damovo for the latter to supply state-of-the-art video conferencing equipment, as well as 'evidence racks' for displaying video evidence.

Inside the school of tomorrow

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0000

On the island of Ireland there is a school where the pupil-to-computer ratio is 2:1. Every classroom has a whiteboard, every teacher a laptop and a high-definition videoconferencing system can link students to museums, Oxford dons and language students in other countries. Students are encouraged to write music, create movies, generate art, learn new languages and even design and manufacture their own products. This school is not totally unique; there are quite a few like it. This school, however, is not in the Republic.

The long arm of the law has just got longer, says Dublin tech firm

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:07:00 +0000

Technology developed by a Dublin software company could become a major weapon used by police forces to curb organised crime.

Smart electricity will be standard in Europe in five years

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:24:00 +0000

Smart electricity meters that will allow households to receive bills based on actual consumption will be available in one in three homes in Europe by 2013, new research suggests.

Dublin firm in web-mapping deal with Australian Government

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:30:00 +0000

The State of Victoria in Australia is deploying a technology developed by a Dublin firm that will allow local authorities and other organisations to access and update their geospatial datasets from a web browser.

Drivers still confused about new barrier-free toll system

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:30:00 +0000

While the physical West-Link toll plaza is being replaced by an electronic barrier-free system as of the stroke of midnight this Friday/Saturday 30 August, there still remains confusion as some drivers do not know what it entails.

Urgent training needed after serious Government data breach

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:01:00 +0000

The loss of a laptop containing 380,000 records of social welfare and pension recipients is a wake-up call for the Government and public and private sector bodies to ensure all staff are trained properly in data protection and use of encryption.

EU member states urged to get closer to a European digital library

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0000

The European Commission is calling on EU member states to make more effort to provide digital versions of works from their cultural institutions so the dream of a European Digital Library can be realised this autumn.

Technology shares forgotten accounts of Irish history

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what happened to all the old archived material collected by town councils, hospitals and parish centres on life in Ireland when the poorhouse was the destination of the starving and the sick or when dancehalls were the centre of our social life?

Autumn 2009 launch date for digital television switchover

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:39:00 +0000

Following the end of digital terrestrial television (DTT) trials by the Irish Government today, Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan said national rollout will begin in a little over a year - August 2009.

Europe moves to cut text roaming 'rip-off'

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:53:00 +0000

European telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding (pictured) said she wants new legislation to cut the cost of text messaging as people travel within the EU.

Fibre more important than roads - Minister

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:00:00 +0000

Minister Eamon Ryan podcast

"Roads don't hold a penny in comparison to the importance of fibre to the Irish economy," said the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan TD (pictured), during an interview with siliconrepublic.com as he outlined a major €435m investment by the Government in Ireland's broadband infrastructure.

State fibre assets could power NGNs

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:30:00 +0000

The telecoms industry will today be presented with the Government's report on next-generation networks (NGNs) and many hope the plan involves making use of stranded fibre assets owned by the State, which combined could turn Ireland into a leading digital nation.

Wicklow County Council deploys assistive web technology

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Wicklow County Council has added audio speech to its website by incorporating speech software from Texthelp Systems.

Spanish Point lands €400,000 OSI contract

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Irish start-up company Spanish Point has landed a €400,000 contract to provide Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI) with a new order processing and business process management platform.