Minister of State Ossian Smyth TD: Connecting

Minister of State Ossian Smyth TD: Connecting Government 2030 launched

I was delighted to launch Connecting Government 2030: A Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Service in March 2022, setting out our ambition for digitalisation of public services over the coming years, writes Minister of State with responsibility for eGovernment Ossian Smyth TD.

We want to make it just as easy to get your government services online as it is to shop online. You can already apply for many services online, for example: a tax refund or a welfare payment online. It is great that you can get a new passport or a driver's license without having to wait in a queue at an office counter.

We have delivered well against our expectations and have put in place the foundations of a strong digital government ecosystem. I acknowledge the work of our civil and public service for the progress to date. However, while there are many areas of excellence, we want to see ease of access to government services increase and greater integration across all public services. Connecting Government 2030 will help us achieve this ambition.

Connecting Government 2030 embodies a digital by default approach in delivering public services. Working with stakeholders and the public, we will build towards 90 per cent online uptake of key public services in line with the targets set by the EU’s Digital Decade. At the same time, of course, we will improve the offline experience for those who are unable to access services digitally. Connecting Government 2030 addresses the digitalisation of public services dimension of the new national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework. It also aligns with the targets set out in Civil Service Renewal 2030.

The digital transformation of government means redesigning and rebuilding government processes and services and using digitalisation and data to provide an integrated experience and service for our people, for businesses, for policymakers and for service providers. In order to achieve more user-focused outcomes, digitalisation, supported by ICT, will be an integral part of policymaking and public service design processes from the outset,

My colleague in government, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, acknowledged this in Budget 2022. He remarked that the allocations announced “must be matched by a commitment to deliver value for money across all areas of government. This will mean further embedding digitisation and new ways of working across our public services”. The well-established benefits of the digital transformation of public services for both individuals and businesses include efficiency, transparency, trust, and accessibility. Moreover, we know that a strong government digital performance supports and draws strength from a strong digital economy in Ireland.

Connecting Government 2030 identifies six priority action areas.

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3 A human-driven digital

experience: Understanding our users and their needs is key to delivering better services.

Harnessing data effectively:

Improving public services by implementing structures to deliver more and better re-use of data, respecting privacy, and data protection.

Government as a platform:

Driving service simplification through an ecosystem of standards, resources and tools, including application of the ‘onceonly’ principle.

Challenging ourselves to look afresh at solving difficult problems to build innovative solutions putting our users at the centre.

Strengthening digital skills:

Strengthening and developing new capabilities and skills, which are able to sustain a digital public service culture.

6 Focusing on governance and

leadership: Putting in place governance structures to drive digital transformation across government.

The following core design principles will drive those six priority action areas:

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Digital by default and cloud-first: Building towards the targets for 2030 that 90 per cent of applicable services are consumed online and being more proactive and progressive in embracing cloud.

• All-of-government approach:

Ensuring an integrated and richer experience for individuals and businesses and that digital considerations are embedded in policy processes.

New ways of working: Enabling working environments that empower our people to give of their best, promoting the sharing of ideas, designs, and innovations.

Privacy-driven and secure by

design: Design and build systems that are aligned with best practice in security and cyber defence.

The Connecting Government 2030 Strategy will help provide for our people with:

• better access to trusted, high quality digital government services;

services delivered in an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable manner with enhanced service to those needing assistance;

secure and transparent reuse of personal data; and

• opportunities to actively contribute to the co-creation of government services.

“Connecting Government 2030 embodies a digital by default approach in delivering public services.”

Minister of State with responsibility for eGovernment Ossian Smyth TD

For businesses, the Strategy will help to deliver:

better access to integrated digital government services;

reduced administrative overheads;

GovTech opportunities; and

greater openness and enhanced engagement with government.

For the public servants developing and delivering public services, the strategy will:

support the effective use of data to plan and deliver all government services;

strengthen capabilities and skills;

support an ecosystem of common digital building blocks/tools; and

provide a strong governance framework.

Connecting Government 2030 recognises and reflects the ambition of the European Green Deal by promoting the use of environmentally friendly technologies and boosting the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean circular economy.

Consequently, we will continuously improve our use of sustainable ICT, including improved circular product cycles. We will work to ensure ICT equipment and services implemented by government become fully circular, i.e. not just energy efficient in design, but also designed to last longer, to be properly maintained, to contain recycled material, and to be easily dismantled and recycled.

A key element of this ambition is the development of the first government data centre, which will be innovative in its green design, delivery, and sustainability credentials. The new data centre and specifically the cloudorientated infrastructure design within it will provide the pathway to close down inefficient computer rooms and small data centres, thus creating a more energy-efficient hosting capability across the public service. The government data centre will also be central to our wider data collection and storage plans, including edge computing.

The coming years will be about building upon our strong foundations and creating a world-leading digital government service. I look forward to the implementation of Connecting Government 2030: A Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Service. It will take an all-of-government effort to deliver its ambitious outcomes. But I am confident that Connecting Government 2030 will greatly improve the services we deliver to our people and to business and contribute to the Government’s overall objectives for sustainability.

Building strong partnership ecosystems to drive digital transformation within government services

Born out of necessity, we have seen a greater acceleration of digital transformation and innovation within public services during the Covid-19 pandemic than we have in the last decade, writes Shelah McMahon, Head of Public Sector Sales, Vodafone Ireland.

As we look forward, there is a need to better understand and evolve the ways in which technology can support the delivery and management of public services from health and education to the connected smart city in order to build a more resilient, equal, and prosperous society and economy. The recent launch of the Irish Government’s digital and ICT strategy Connecting Government 2030 is a clear signal of intent to harness the momentum achieved in the last two years to further digitise government services and there is a strong role for the telecommunications sector to play in realising the vision and ambition of this framework and driving a step-change in how people, businesses, and policy makers interact.

Vodafone have been privileged to partner with government over recent years on the delivery of digital infrastructure and services with integrated next generation fixed and mobile solutions, cloud based platforms, IOT and edge computing and we look forward to continue the journey to support the digital transformation of Ireland’s government services. This digital transformation was accelerated exponentially over the last couple of years where public sector bodies were required to adopt new solutions and ways of working almost overnight to continue to deliver key services to citizens.

In the last two years, public sector bodies required a significant amount of effort and energy to adopt to new solutions and ways of working in realtime that has created a stimulus for greater technology adoption.

This was visible across all of government and particularly across education and healthcare. Centres of learning were faced with the prospect of educating thousands of students remotely, and a reliable connection was key to providing a seamless transition into online learning and put digitisation at the top of the agenda and indeed budget.

The HSE, confronted with an unparalleled surge of patient admissions, was tasked with facilitating efficient at-home working for a high percentage of its staff. Vodafone and Aruba partnered with HSE to deliver local area network and connectivity solutions.

Vodafone expedited a smooth transition to remote working with as little disruption as possible. Taking St James’s Hospital as an example, Remote Access Points (RAPs) were

deployed in the homes of key medical staff members, allowing them full, secure remote access to the Patient Archiving & Communication Service (PACS).

The Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT, now known as Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands Midwest) also assisted Ireland’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout by transforming the modernised athletics arena into a vaccination centre, delivering some 3,500 vaccines each day, seven days a week. The dedicated Vodafone/Aruba robust high-speed network provided the ideal IT infrastructure for vaccine rollout, enabling AIT to pivot its core function to a lifesaving inoculation centre with a catchment area spanning the Westmeath-Roscommon border.

Looking forward, Vodafone is continuing to enable digital transition by focusing on platforms and strategic partnerships as the way forward for the business. A major part of the ongoing effort to better integrate our service portfolio (fixed and mobile connectivity, LAN, WLAN, WiFi, 5G, IoT and cloud) involves platforms with open interfaces and cloud-native support for emerging technologies such as managed 5G and IoT connectivity, IoT application enablement, and edge computing. This allows us to build new products and services and co-create end-to-end platforms with our customers and partners, moving very much from a connectivity provider to a technology provider.

This partnership ecosystem is crucial to support the digital transformation of public services.

For example, with a partnership spanning 22 years, Aruba and Vodafone are well placed to deliver complex LAN and WiFi solutions for public sector bodies across education, healthcare, local and government.

Aside from the work with AIT, Vodafone have successfully delivered numerous other large and complex solutions in both the public and private sectors across the island of Ireland. Specific projects in public sector organisations include TU Dublin’s campus, encompassing secure student access and control; Limerick IT, Northern Regional College, and HSE National, including a major WiFi upgrade for St James’s Hospital. Northern Ireland Civil Service and working with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) to deliver the nationwide Government Cloud Network, built on Aruba switches and routers, wireless and network management software.

With a clear imperative for continued digitisation of government services in Ireland, now is the time to be bold and innovative in order to future-proof how we interact with citizens, businesses and communities.

Our aim is to support the digital transformation of government and to use digitalisation and data to provide an integrated experience for our citizens, businesses and policy makers to embed longer-term societal resilience.

Vodafone is a purpose-led business just like the public sector. Our purpose has underpinned our commitments during Covid and Conti including prioritising mission critical communications; providing network capacity and services for critical government functions, especially hospitals and emergency calls; and improving the delivery of information to the public.

“In the last two years, public sector bodies required a significant amount of effort and energy to adopt to new solutions and ways of working in realtime that has created a stimulus for greater technology adoption.”

W: www.vodafone.com