Address by Mr. Noel Treacy, T.D., Minister for Science, Technology and Commerce at the launch of a new contract which East Clare Telecottage has secured with Prime Learning, Limerick, East Clare Telecottage, Scariff, County Clare Monday 20th November, 2000.

I am delighted to be here today to celebrate the launch of a very significant development in the life of East Clare Telecottage (ECT), the securing of a major contract with Prime Learning, Limerick.

While ECT has always been conscious of its community development role in providing IT access and related facilities in a rural area, it operates on a commercial basis. I understand that your income is generated by an impressive array of services, including the sourcing and management of e-teams for companies outsourcing contract work, IT training, a translation service using a broad base of expert translators worldwide, website design and hosting, call centre services, office services and a cyber café. ECT has also gained further expertise and built up international training connections through its participation in a number of EU projects. In one project under ADAPT, ECT was responsible for customizing and delivering teleworker training to candidates being trained in IT, Teleworking and Localisation skills.

I know also that ECT is actively involved in the Shannon e-region project, sharing experiences as an ICT related business operating in a rural community. Martina Minogue, one of your directors, is Chair of the Community work group within the e-region project and a member of the Steering Committee. I would like to thank you for your valuable contribution to this very important project which is vital to the development of the Information Society in this region.

ECT was a founder member in 1993 of Telework Ireland, the professional association of teleworkers in Ireland, which has done so much to promote the cause of telework over the years. Your director, Nana Luke, is its current national chairperson and I wish her every success in this role. ECT has gained from its involvement with Telework Ireland through the exchange of experiences and information with other members, exposure on the Telework Ireland website and participation in a number of projects, including the ADAPT project that I have just mentioned.

This contract with Prime Learning will provide full time employment for 8 people, with the potential to expand further. This e-team, which comprises 3 graphic designers and 5 instructional designers, will work to guidelines specified by Prime Learning. The members of the e-team, who are highly PC literate, will operate from their homes. This is a far-seeing imaginative project which has a number of important benefits, not just for ECT, but for the broader community. Firstly, the contract provides access to highly skilled, well paid work for people in a rural location who are unable to commute on a regular basis and who would not have access to this work on an individual basis. Secondly, it provides a model example of e-working, allowing companies to have access to skilled people in rural areas, who would not otherwise be available to them, while at the same time assisting rural development through the employment of people in their own communities. Thirdly, the addition of such a prestigious client, will not only provide greater financial security for this company, but will also provide a reference of its capabilities which will help eTraining International attract other clients. I wish you every success with this project.

There are a number of anomalies in the tax code stemming from the fact that much of Ireland’s tax legislation was drawn up in an era before e-working was contemplated and these uncertainties create barriers to the uptake of e-work, particularly by corporates. For this reason, there is a commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness that we will review relevant fiscal structures.

As part of this process, the eWork Action Forum, our Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Enterprise Ireland, and the Information Society Commission jointly commissioned an evaluation from KPMG to examine the fiscal barriers to e-work and to make recommendations as to what incentives might facilitate its uptake by companies. Their Report "eWorking in Ireland Fiscal Barriers and Incentives", has been submitted to the Minister for Finance for his consideration in the context of the forthcoming national budget. I believe that the adoption of the recommendations outlined in this Report would provide Ireland with an opportunity to establish itself as a world leader, as regards the creation of a favourable fiscal environment in which e-working can flourish. I can assure you that I will do my utmost to support the case for the introduction of measures which will contribute to this aim.

I am delighted to tell you also that the merits of the Code of Practice have been recognized beyond these shores as the Code recently won a major European e-work award. The awards, which are organised by the European Commission, are given annually to organisations for best practice in the introduction, development and promotion of new working practices in the Information Society. The award in the "Best Framework Agreement" category is a major tribute to our social partnership process and will be very helpful in promoting the Code of Practice and, indeed, e-work.