The Internet is about to sweep through local government, and the planning system will be a prime target, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has indicated.
Planning files, it is envisaged, will soon be accessible to the public via the Internet in a move to embrace the full potential of information technology and to enhance local democracy and participation.
Ultimately, it is expected planning applicants will be able to submit applications and pay any associated fees via the Internet. Access will be possible through personal computers at home or in business and via PCs increasingly located in public libraries.
The move was announced yesterday by Mr Dempsey as he attempted to inject more pace into a modernisation programme for local government. Making the planning system accessible via the Internet is part of a series of changes aimed at fully utilising information and communications technology (ICT) throughout local government.
"Local government cannot afford to ignore the opportunities. If you don't put ICT high on the organisation's agenda, you'll be missing out on the most powerful tool available to you to transform how you do your business," Mr Dempsey told city and county managers meeting in Dublin.
In time, the public should be able, for example, to see electronically the piecing together of a county/city development plan. Three-dimensional images, video clips and artists' drawings should be accessible.
Already local authorities in Meath, Kildare and Donegal have been developing possible models based around the Internet. Meath County Council has an intranet system, which connects all its area offices internally via the Internet. Planning files and maps, and the electoral register can be accessed from any office, and viewed by the public at local authority one-stop shops.
In Co Kildare, a system allows for Internet access to planning files, to review their progress and examine maps and photographs. Geographical information system software, combined with the Internet, offers the most radical innovations. Thus, householders will be able to focus on their local area, see where planning applications have been made (and their status); the zoning of land, location of accidents on major roads and traffic volumes, etc. A prototype to provide such information has been developed.
The Minister said he wished to recognise the cost burden on local authorities undertaking modernisation by putting in place a £5 million fund to support initiatives and reward innovation. In addition, his Department is to cover the cost of providing intranet services in all local authorities.
The Department of the Environment, with the Local Government Computer Services Board, has published a report, ICT Vision for Local Government, outlining how local authorities may best embrace information and communications technology. A report evaluating the success of the Government's strategy management initiative and possible future direction within local authorities - Modernising Government, the Challenge for Local Government - has also been published.
