Improve Access to Government Services Through Technology (IE0039)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Ireland National Action Plan 2016-2018
Action Plan Cycle: 2016
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Department of Public Expenditure and Reform & Department of Social Protection
Support Institution(s): All government departments and public bodies
Policy Areas
Capacity BuildingIRM Review
IRM Report: Ireland End-of-Term Report 2016-2018, Ireland Mid-Term Report 2016-2018
Early Results: Marginal
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): Low
Implementation i
Description
Objective: To improve services to our citizens through enhanced use of technology. Status quo: The global technological shift has increased both the demand and expectation for Governments to make it simpler for citizens to use services through technology and digital platforms. Citizens expect their Government to harness technology and to build solutions that are shared across the public service. There is an increasing demand for reduced duplication of effort to make the citizen’s transactions with the State easier, more flexible, and less time consuming. Ambition: The Government will champion the role of new technology and drive innovation by making it easier for citizens to engage with the State. This ambition will include meeting citizens’ demands for digital services by introducing readily accessible, intuitive, and secure applications. These solutions will increase service speed, effectiveness, and will create better value for money in the provision of public services. The Government will meet this ambition by eliminating duplication of engagement through a single customer view using a ‘tell us once’ principle; by replacing multiple Government issued cards with one safe and secure smart Public Services Card, making the citizen’s engagement with the State quicker and more seamless. The Government’s ICT strategy will provide enhanced outcomes for customers by using a secure Government Network, sharing commonly needed applications across the public service and by implementing a Government Cloud to safely store and maintain data and applications. The State recognises that not all citizens will have the capacity to access digital or web-based solutions and will cater for this too. Lead implementing organisations: Department of Public Expenditure and Reform & Department of Social Protection Timeline: January 2017 to June 2018.
Commitment 6: Improve Access to Government Services through Technology OGP values Civic participation, Public accountability New or ongoing commitment Ongoing Lead implementation organisations Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, OGCIO, Department of Social Protection Other actors involved - government All government departments and public bodies Verifiable and measurable milestones to fulfil the commitment New or ongoing Start date End date The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer will continue to work with the Department of Social Protection to increase the uptake of MyGovID and the Public Services Card, including its use by Government agencies, and to develop the SAFE authentication model. This will also enable Citizens to access Government services online with confidence. Ongoing June 2018 Create a Government service gateway or portal. The gateway would initially be a means of directing the service user, especially where they are new users of Government services, to the services they require. The portal would then be used to present new or less well known information or services and be the means for single sign-on/authentication and verification/update of general information (e.g. simple address information), using the “tell us once” principle. Ongoing June 2018.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
6. Improve Access to Government Services Through Technology
Commitment Text:
Objective: To improve services to our citizens through enhanced use of technology.
Status quo: The global technological shift has increased both the demand and expectation for Governments to make it simpler for citizens to use services through technology and digital platforms. Citizens expect their Government to harness technology and to build solutions that are shared across the public service. There is an increasing demand for reduced duplication of effort to make the citizen’s transactions with the State easier, more flexible, and less time consuming.
Ambition: The Government will champion the role of new technology and drive innovation by making it easier for citizens to engage with the State. This ambition will include meeting citizens’ demands for digital services by introducing readily accessible, intuitive, and secure applications. These solutions will increase service speed, effectiveness, and will create better value for money in the provision of public services.
The Government will meet this ambition by eliminating duplication of engagement through a single customer view using a ‘tell us once’ principle; by replacing multiple Government issued cards with one safe and secure smart Public Services Card, making the citizen’s engagement with the State quicker and more seamless. The Government’s ICT strategy will provide enhanced outcomes for customers by using a secure Government Network, sharing commonly needed applications across the public service and by implementing a Government Cloud to safely store and maintain data and applications.
The State recognises that not all citizens will have the capacity to access digital or web-based solutions and will cater for this too.
Milestones:
6.1. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer will continue to work with the Department of Social Protection to increase the uptake of MyGovID and the Public Services Card, including its use by Government agencies, and to develop the SAFE authentication model. This will also enable Citizens to access Government services online with confidence.
6.2. Create a Government service gateway or portal. The gateway would initially be a means of directing the service user, especially where they are new users of Government services, to the services they require. The portal would then be used to present new or less well known information or services and be the means for single sign-on/authentication and verification/update of general information (e.g. simple address information), using the 'tell us once' principle.
Responsible institutions: Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Department of Social Protection
Supporting institution(s): N/A
Start date: January 2017
End date: June 2018
Context and Objectives
This commitment aims to increase the uptake of the Public Services Card (PSC). The PSC was created in 2012[Note: On this, please see: ‘What is the Public Services Card?’, TheJournal.ie, 9 May 2012,
http://www.thejournal.ie/what-is-the-public-services-card-443305-May2012/. ] to replace other government-issued cards such as the free travel pass and social services card. Ireland’s first action plan included a commitment to improve the PSC, resulting in the creation of an online self-scheduling service to help customers book their own appointments to get the card. This commitment expands on the previous action plan by seeking to extend the use of the PSC even further amongst the population and by using the PSC as a foundation for citizens to use MyGovID, the portal for accessing government services online, such as social welfare payments and Revenue service.[Note: Available at: https://www.mygovid.ie/. ] By so doing, this commitment also aims to reduce the amount of times users need to give their personal information on government portals/websites. The commitment also calls for the creation of a new ‘Digital Services gateway’ to direct new users to services they require, and eventually serve as a single sign-on/authentication and verification of general information.
Milestone 6.1 on the MyGovID does not directly pertain to any OGP values because it plans to increase the uptake of the MyGovID and the Public Services Card without consulting users or improving access to information through their use. Milestone 6.2 calls for the new gateway to present ‘new or less well known information or services’ to the public, and is thus relevant to access to information and technology and innovation. Milestone 6.1 includes actions that are verifiable such as developing the Standard Authentication Framework Environment (SAFE) authentication model, but does not fully define how exactly it will increase the use of PSC and MyGovID amongst government agencies. Milestone 6.2 presents a reasonably specific roadmap for developing the new gateway portal, but the ‘new information and services’ that will be made available on the portal remain unclear. Therefore, the overall specificity for the commitment is marked as medium. If fully implemented, the commitment’s milestones could allow users of the PSC, MyGovID, and the new gateway to more easily and efficiently authenticate their identity. However, there is no means to guarantee that services received will improve. For example, one may be able to apply for social welfare payments more efficiently with the PSC and MyGovID, but there is no guarantee that the state will process payments more quickly or efficiently. It is also unclear how the information presented on the MyGovID will differ from the information that will be on the new government service portal for Milestone 6.2. Therefore, the overall potential impact is marked as minor.
Completion
There has been substantial progress on Milestone 6.1 and limited progress of Milestone 6.2 during the first year of the action plan. Both are on schedule.
The IRM researcher ‘tested’ the system by applying for an individual PSC, and spoke with the government official with whom an appointment was made to get the PSC. Making an appointment to get the card and receiving the card (which took approximately two weeks after the appointment) were both fairly efficient processes, and the social welfare office staff (in Dublin city centre) was helpful in explaining what the card was, emphasising how the SAFE authentication model allowed residents of Ireland with the card to access government services in a secure environment. Explanation was also given why the PSC is different from other national ID cards found in other EU states. The PSC now has close to 3 million users, and there are a wide range of services found on the website of MyGovID.[Note: On the PSC, please see: http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Public-Services-Card_holder.aspx and on the services available on MyGovID, please see: https://www.mygovid.ie/availableServices/AvailableServices.] For Milestone 6.2, the government developed its Digital Services Gateway as indicated in the government’s progress report. Its overall progress remains limited, however, because the Gateway was not fully launched in the first year of the plan, although it is expected to take place in the second year.
While it was reported in the press that the state launched a €200,000 PSC promotional campaign,[Note: Elaine Edwards, ‘Government plans €200,000 public services card campaign’, Irish Times, 22 October 2017, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/government-plans-200-000-public-services-card-campaign-1.3265101. ] in October 2017 the Data Protection Commissioner opened a formal investigation into whether the PSC actually complies fully with the law.[Note: Elaine Edwards, ‘Data watchdog to open investigation into public services card,’ Irish Times, 20 October 2017, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/data-watchdog-to-open-investigation-into-public-services-card-1.3263567.] In the context of the ‘biometric data processing and governance and data issues’ that are associated with the actions, the main concern of the Commissioner was that ‘large-scale government projects without a specific legislative underpinning posed challenges in terms of the transparency to the public and the uses to which their personal data was now being applied.’[Note: Taken from: https://www.dataprotection.ie/docs/EN/30-08-2017-Data-Protection-Commisisoners-Statement-on-the-Public-Services-Card/m/1651.htm. ] Some citizens expressed concerns over whether the PSC could be used as a national identity card, something which many Irish are against, even though many EU member states have such cards. Government leaders at the highest level have sought to dispel this misperception, clearly stating that the PSC is not a national identity card and dismissing concerns that there are potentially negative implications for privacy and data protection.[Note: For opposing views on this see: (a) ‘anti-card’ view found at https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/state-must-justify-introduction-of-public-services-card-1.3211434 and (b) state defense, or ‘pro-card’ view https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0831/901203-public-services-card/. A relatively balanced article on the issue can be found on: https://www.thesun.ie/news/1462486/what-is-the-new-public-services-card-what-do-we-need-it-for-and-how-do-we-get-it/.]
Early Results
It is hard to state if there is evidence of changes in government practice per se, but there are indications of increased uptake in the number of PSC users. As reported in the End of Term IRM report for the 2014–16 action plan, around 2 million cards had been issued by June 2016. The Irish Times reported that the number by the end of 2017 was 2.8 million.[Note: Most recent data is based figures reported by Edwards, ‘Data watchdog to open investigation into public services card.’] This represents an increase of around 40 percent between the two reporting periods.
Next Steps
Both milestones will likely be implemented by the end of the action plan period, and will not need to be taken forward. However, the IRM researcher recommends the government further address concerns over the potential misuse of personal data. The IRM researcher also recommends that the government provide greater clarity for how the new gateway will add value to citizens.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
For commitment details, see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Ireland_End-Term_...