Tánaiste addresses Thriving and Surviving On-Line Conference

Mary Harney, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment today (Tuesday 16th May, 2000) addressed the Thriving and Surviving On-Line - business and legal issues, Conference in the Conrad Hotel, Dublin. The conference was organised by Competition Press in association with McCann Fitzgerald, Solicitors and centred on a range of important legal issues which are key components in building trust, understanding and confidence for business and consumers alike.

Addressing the conference the Tánaiste said "For e-commerce to grow in Ireland there needs to be confidence and trust in the system. E-commerce also needs a secure regulatory framework that both enables e-commerce and promotes and encourages growth in this area."

The Tánaiste continued "My Department, in conjunction with the Department of Public Enterprise, has recently published a draft Bill to give legal effect to electronic signatures, writing and electronic contracts. The Bill underpins and gives security to the new ways in which business is transacted over the Internet. This piece of legislation has been widely welcomed as the best and most advanced and comprehensive of its kind. We stand to be the first country in the EU to have this type of legislation which is applicable across all areas of public administration and business law."

"The challenges posed by the digital economy are not only technological but, to a large extent, strategic in nature. We must ensure in the immediate future that not only are the basic infrastructural requirements put in place, but also that the full potential of ICTs are realised for the benefit of enterprise and employment." the Tánaiste said.

Concluding the Tánaiste referred to the Government’s commitment to the development of top class telecommunications infrastructure and said "The recent agreement with Global Crossing providing Ireland with international broadband connectivity will enable us to provide up to 15 times the current international capacity out of Ireland at one tenth of the existing unit costs levels. It will mean that we will become an integral part of a world class communications chain running from the US to Ireland and onwards to 24 European cities. Allied to the roll-out of broadband infrastructure to over 120 centres throughout the country, and the launch of Ireland’s first Digital Park, Ireland is now firmly "on-line" in the e-commerce development stakes."