Five Irish public sector projects are up for gongs in the 2005 eEurope Awards for eGovernment to be held in Manchester next month, a tonic for a beleaguered sector that has been heavily under attack from the media in recent weeks.
The strong Irish contingent is made up of Meath County Council for its work in taking communities online, the Local Government Computer Services Board for Mobhaile, the Department of An Taoiseach for its eCabinet initiative and the Revenue Commissioners for its ongoing innovation around the Revenue On-Line Service portal.
Not only have they been shortlisted for top awards from a total of 52 competitors across Europe, they have also been invited to demonstrate their projects at the event.
The awards were first launched in 2003 and have been criticised in the past for putting too much onus on the relatively simple provision of online services rather than the deeper-rooted transformation of the public sector.
Organised by the European Commission and eligible for entry from 25 member states, this year’s eEurope Awards set out to put greater emphasis on projects that demonstrate good practice and high impact that can then go on to be disseminated across the EU.
By Ian Campbell
