Who is it for?
Titled the ‘Irish Government’s International Directory’ Ask Ireland’s target reader is anyone looking for information about Ireland, especially business, economic and political information.
What makes it worth a visit?
Though aimed principally at other nationalities, this is a portal of Irish websites that would be useful to any Irish citizen looking for a listing of government agencies and services.
What information will I find there?
Lists of web addresses grouped under five menu sections: setting up a business; buying from Ireland; visiting Ireland; working in Ireland; and other links. The latter takes you through to a listing of 90-odd Irish government websites and agencies, divided into six categories: information on the Irish state; government departments; government offices/agencies; state cultural institutions; semi-state agencies/companies; and research and development agencies. Those looking for more information can use the search engine or go to the ‘contact us’ section.
Best feature?
Good, clear lay out.
Worst feature?
Lame attempt at multilingualism by offering several language versions of the About US page – but of no other part of the site. Smacks of tokenism.
What does it look like?
Won’t win any awards for cutting-edge design but its lay out is undeniably clean and simple. The orange background and text is pretty bland though.
The verdict?
You may have already bookmarked every useful government website there is. If you haven’t, you might find some useful ones here.
By Brian Skelly
