2026-07-07

7. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the criteria applied in assessing projects under the digital public service transformation fund, including the way in which service improvement, efficiency gains and potential for wider roll-out are considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51534/26]

Question No. 7 in the name of Deputy Ó Cearúil is being taken by Deputy Malcolm Byrne.

I ask the Minister for Public Expenditure; Infrastructure; Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the criteria applied in assessing projects under the digital public service transformation fund, including the way in which service improvement, efficiency gains and potential for wider roll-out are considered.

The public service digital transformation fund, PSDTF, was established to support the delivery of Government priorities under the Digital Public Services Plan 2030. The digital public services plan is the Government's roadmap for delivering seamless, inclusive and user-centred public services through digital transformation. This Plan is a flagship initiative under the Better Public Services strategy. It aims to ensure that by 2030, 100% of key public services are available online and 90% of applicable services are consumed digitally. The fund is intended to accelerate digital transformation across the public service by supporting projects that improve services for the public and strengthen cross-government collaboration. It does not operate as an open competitive fund. Instead, applications are invited from selected public service bodies in line with the strategic priorities identified under the Digital Public Services Plan 2030, particularly the delivery of priority life events services and the development of shared digital capabilities that can be used across Government. Projects seeking funding must demonstrate alignment with the Government of Ireland design principles and outline how they will advance the delivery of human-centred digital services across organisational boundaries; adoption of new and emerging technologies with the potential to support life events service delivery and the development and scaling of proven digital innovations Projects are also expected to demonstrate how they will contribute to key public service outcomes, including customer satisfaction, public trust, service quality and increased use of digital channels. Efficiency and value for money considerations are central to the assessment process and projects are evaluated on their capacity to streamline processes, reduce administrative burden and duplication of effort, improve data-sharing and interoperability, and deliver more integrated services across government. The potential for wider roll-out and reuse across the public service is another important consideration. Applications that demonstrate scalability, cross-government applicability and the ability to support multiple life events services are particularly encouraged. The fund is one of a range of supports provided by Departments and public service bodies to help accelerate the digital transition. Others include the provision of a suite of public digital infrastructure building blocks designed to be fully compatible and interoperable with other systems across Ireland and the EU. This ensures a consistent approach.

I welcome in particular the moves towards the digitalisation of life events. I commend the work of the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer on everything that is being done there. It is also very important not just to have the business case but that there is also the technological know-how around what it is we are hoping to achieve. One of the most critical things the Minister's Department will be overseeing is the digitalisation of health records, obviously in conjunction with the Department of Health. It is deeply frustrating to me how long it is taking. I would like assurances and perhaps the Minister will outline where we are with the plan for awarding of contracts on that. Will the Minister give assurances that, with citizens' consent, there is the possibility that anonymised health records can also be used for clinical research? That would make a lot of sense in terms of how that informs our health service. I would be grateful if the Minister could provide us with an update.

I do not have a specific update here with me on digital or electronic health records. We have taken the leap as a Government, with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to put significant capital funding aside to digitalise our health system, which is the correct strategic move in the context of Ireland being behind many other countries in the efficient use of health data for personal reasons and for patient records. There is huge duplication across our hospital system with paper records. There is a tender process ongoing around that. The use of research, data-sharing and anonymity is something I will have to revert to the Department of Health. It needs to be scalable and interoperable and avoid duplication and some of the mishaps we have had in other digital health systems. Given the fact that many are much more mature, it provides a real opportunity to really deploy AI in the health system in terms of diagnostics and better advanced therapeutics. It will provide a real opportunity to drive reform in our health system and better enable practitioners and clinicians to provide the best care.

I welcome that commitment. It will be transformational. It is my own view, and I do not think it is underestimating it to say, that our records not being digitalised is probably costing our health service up to a billion euro a year in terms of delays and in the failure to be able to use some of that data towards clinical research. We need to start to talk about a campaign for when we move to that situation to encourage citizens to agree to this data being used in an anonymised form to inform clinical research, which will result in further efficiencies. I am worried that we are not moving quickly enough on some of this. Along with the digitalisation process we also need an information campaign to explain to citizens the benefit of what we are actually achieving. There have been 20 years of the Clinical Research Centre at UCD. We should think about the achievements it could have if it were able to have access to some of this data in partnership with other clinical research centres.

Certainly there is a massive opportunity in terms of data as we digitalise our health system. We need to do it in a way that builds trust, is transparent and obviously protects individuals as well. I would be open to that wider engagement with the Minister for Health and others, as we are tendering for this and delivering it, on how do we build the case so that people can use really important data to deliver better clinical research, and how people's personal health records can provide a huge capacity in the context of prophylactic therapeutics. There is a huge opportunity to really improve the lives of citizens in terms of population-based healthcare and the identification of issues before people develop symptoms. It is really limitless with digital health and in a way that is transformative for people's healthcare and for delivering a real public health system that is digitally enabled. Research is absolutely connected to that. I am absolutely willing to engage with the Deputy and to get the Minister involved as well around starting that wider engagement on clinical research.