Address by Mr. Noel Treacy TD,
Minister for Science,Technology and Commerce at the 'Eurokom IT Security Seminar' in the Citywest Hotel, Saggart, Co Dublin, on 17 October 2001 at 9.30am

I am delighted to have this opportunity to address this IT Security Seminar here today. EuroKom has been a leading provider of web, e-mail and group communication solutions to both Irish and European enterprises for almost twenty years now. It has a broad client base ranging from small SMEs to some of the largest corporations. In the Public Sector I note that both FAS and Enterprise Ireland both agencies of our Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are amongst these as indeed is the European Commission.

Confidence in IT Security is crucial to the success of eBusiness. A particular emphasis and, indeed, area of expertise for EuroKom is net security and confidentiality.

Overcoming security and confidentiality fears go right to the heart of encouraging more firms to profit from this powerful sales medium. Words like hacking and viruses inspire a real fear out there.

We are told that hackers form a very loose-knit community on the web with groups appearing and disappearing under pen or should I say, keyboard names. Within this community, individual hackers or groupings gain kudos for their ability to hack the most difficult or high profile sites. On the other side of the fence lie the law-enforcement agencies who try to catch and prosecute them and then of course there are the businesses which are affected by this hacking.

And that's not the worst of it. In recent months, we have seen a wave of viruses at loose on the web ranging from Melissa to the latest Nimda Worm.

It is all the more important therefore that all users mail is absolutely secure, that there is a full up –to- date virus checking done on all incoming mail and, given the increasing development of mobile means of accessing mail, that this protection can also be extended where required to mobiles and laptops out in the field Sustaining Ireland's successful economic performance and international competitiveness will require that we continue to come up with rapid and flexible response to new circumstances. Action is required across a range of critical issues to enhance business competitiveness.

This Government is taking a pro-active approach to meeting the challenges and opportunities which the digital economy presents and has made significant advances in all of the major areas connected with the eBusiness agenda. The following six key areas demand attention to ensure Ireland's global competitiveness in this digital age.

1. Telecommunications Infrastructure and Costs;
2. Education in the use of ICTs;
3. Upskilling the existing business sector;
4. Effective Regulation;
5. Research and Development; and
6. E Government.

I would like to give you a brief flavour here today of the actions being pursued by Government under each of these headings

1. Telecommunications Infrastructure and Costs:

The Government is implementing a mix of infrastructural and regulatory policy initiatives to achieve a highly developed infrastructure in the telecommunications connectivity area providing high capacity and a high volume of broadband fibre optic cable at low cost. This is essential for Ireland's competitiveness in the global economy and will lead to an improvement in service and a reduction in costs and prices. The initiatives cover

• deregulation of the telecommunications sector;
• the strengthening of the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation;
• The Global Crossing contract which connects Ireland to 50 European and US cities and reduces certain costs on European routes;
• The IDA co-developed National Digital Park provides interconnection for Global Crossing; and
• £150m allocated under the National Development Plan for advanced telecommunications and eBusiness infrastructure in the regions will greatly increase the availability of broadband communication technology throughout Ireland. As a result of the first call for proposals approximately IR£200M worth of infrastructural investment is underway. There was a second call for proposals recently with a deadline of 19 October2001. Total investment of IR£1 billion in regional broadband infrastructure up to 2006 is proposed.

2. Education in the use of ICTs

In addition to investment in infrastructure, this Government also realises the need to invest in the up-skilling of our people. In response to the recommendations of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, it has already provided an additional £81m for greatly increased third level provision and IT post-graduate conversion programmes.

The Expert Group foresaw a significant increase in IT professionals and technicians due to Government investment. The Information Technology, Business, film, graphics and design areas will be vital to E Business related industry. Partnership between education, business and the public sector to facilitate programme changes was recommended for e-Business skills in third level education.

The Third Report of the same Expert Group makes recommendations on strategies to tackle Ireland's future skills requirements, particularly in the areas of Research, Life Sciences and Information Technology. The Accelerated Technician Programme and the Institute Trainee Programme addresses the provision of qualified graduates in areas of key skills shortages.

In addition the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund is providing £280 million for the development of technology education at all levels including £121m for the Schools IT 2000 Programme.

3. Upskilling the Business Sector

Upskilling the business sector is another of the six key areas which this Government has identified in taking a proactive approach to meeting the challenges of the digital economy and ensuring Ireland's global competitiveness.

Enterprise Ireland, the County and City Enterprise Boards and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland have developed various eBusiness Initiatives as part of their roles in supporting e-Business strategies for Irish SME's. Funding for these was provided by our Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment through the Information Society Action Plan Fund. This was established by Government to progress the objectives of the Government's Action Plan for the Information Society.

Awareness Raising

Our Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Information Society Commission (ISC) and IBEC ran a successful e-business information and education campaign targeted at SMEs; last year.

Our Department is reviewing this awareness raising role with a view to adding value to what has already been achieved through Enterprise Ireland, the CEB's and CCI.

4. Effective Regulation

In order to promote confidence in a secure regulatory framework to assist the growth of e-commerce Ireland has sought to adopt e-commerce-friendly legislation with the enactment of the E- Commerce Act, 2000 and the Copyright Act, 2000.

Ecommerce Act

The E Commerce Act which came into law in September 2000 gives legal recognition to e-business transactions in most areas of business, private law and public administration by giving the same status to electronic signatures, electronic originals, electronic writing and electronic contracts as their paper-based counterparts. It underpins and gives security to the new ways in which business is transacted over the Internet.

E Commerce Directive

Directive 2000/31/EC (Electronic Commerce Directive) was adopted in June 2000 and must be implemented by 17 January, 2002. The objective of the Directive, is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market by ensuring the free movement of Information Society services between Member States. Our Department published a discussion document on our website, in August last, on the transposition of the eCommerce Directive with a view to opening debate on the Directive to interested parties and the general public. The deadline for submissions on this document was Monday October 15th 2001 and our Department is now considering these submissions with a view to moving towards the transposition stage.

Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000

The Copyright Act, which came into effect on 1 January 2001, sets out to put in place a modern regime of statutory protection for copyright and related rights including civil remedies and criminal sanctions.

The Act contains measures directed at protecting rights in the Information Age including measures against "smart card" forgery and measures which support rights management such as "digital fingerprinting" in electronic copies of copyright works.

5. Research and Development

Preparing Ireland now for the demands of tomorrow also requires strong investment in research and development. The £560m Technology Foresight Fund will be used to establish Ireland as a location for world class research excellence in niche areas within ICT's and Biotechnology. The new Fund will be used to develop Ireland as a dynamic location for innovation, particularly in the technologies of tomorrow.

Science Foundation Ireland, a new national Foundation dedicated to world-class excellence in research was launched by us in July, 2000. Researchers from both home and abroad have been invited to compete for funding under the Technology Foresight Fund, £509 million of which will be administered by Science Foundation Ireland.

Two calls for proposals have been made to date, the first of which has been finalised and ten Principal Investigators (PI's) who will head up teams carrying out leading-edge international research have also been named.

6. E Government

The final component, E-Government, is an opportunity to take advantage of the increased productivity, reduced costs and improved customer responsiveness by the use of these new technologies.

The BASIS (Business Access to State Information and Services) project is a cross-departmental project managed by our Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. BASIS has developed a website which provides a one stop shop for public sector information that is delivered around the "life events" or everyday actions of the business user.

This website was developed with the co-operation and involvement of the business community represented by IBEC, ISME, Chambers of Commerce and the County and City Enterprise Boards.

The BASIS project also commissioned a strategic study into the nature and extent of business interaction with the Public Sector, known as the Public Services Broker Study. As part of that study business community representatives and individual businesses were involved in discussions and workshops on issues like the introduction of a single identifier for business, data security, and the sharing of information in an eGovernment environment. The website and the Public Services Broker Study are available at www.basis.ie

The Oasis (On-line Access to Services, Information and Support) website www.oasis.gov.ie developed at Comhairle is an Irish eGovernment initiative. Oasis turns the provision of information around so that it is no longer provided from the point of view of the service provider (Government Department, Health Board, Local Authority etc.) but instead has the information-seeking public as its primary focus.

Oasis presents the information people need, for particular events in their lives, in the one place regardless of the number of agencies involved.

Information is provided on the following ‘life events':

• Birth
• Education
• Employment
• Housing
• Relationships
• Moving Country
• Illness
• Retirement
• Death/Bereavement

Information is also provided on accessing services such as getting a driving license, getting a passport or renewing car tax, and others such as taking a court case and how to access legal aid. In conclusion, I would like to wish EuroKom and all of you here today every success with this Seminar.