Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 July 2025
788. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide statistics on the uptake of digital services by Irish citizens over the past three years; the types of services most frequently used; the demographic information on users; the observed changes in service delivery efficiency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40943/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraBetter Public Services, published in May 2023, is a strategy to transform the delivery of public services and build trust. The vision of the strategy is to deliver inclusive, high quality public service provision that meets the needs and improves the lives of the people of Ireland. The strategy is framed around three core themes within a Public Service Transformation Framework one of which is Digital and Innovation at Scale which provides the strategic direction of reform to 2030 in this key area. All Government Departments and Public Service Bodies have an important role to play in realising the ambition of the strategy. Under each theme, Departments and Public Service Bodies are asked to identify and prioritise key actions in their corporate strategies, align the delivery of reform priorities in their business plans, and report on progress in their annual reports. My Department is leading a number of flagship programmes in collaboration with Government Departments and public service bodies to work towards achieving the ambition we have for Digital and Innovation at scale. These include developing a strategic roadmap and implementation plan for public service digital transformation (2025-2030) building on the progress made in delivering digital services in recent years; development of a Government Digital Wallet and Life Events Portal and recent publication of the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of AI in the Public Service.
My Department carried out a digital public services survey in 2022 amongst those aged 16+ via both Public Consultation and via independent survey parallel through RED C. The consultation was aimed at individual users or their representatives who access public services in a personal capacity for themselves, family or households and for those who wish to access public services related to setting up a business.
Follow on CATI research was then conducted amongst some participants of the Public Consultation who ‘opted in’ to participation in the research. The purpose of the research was to further investigate the online services used by the public and to identify priority areas for improvement.
Some key statistics include:
• Over half of the 16+ population uses government services at least 5+ times per year, with vast majority being via online.
• Although not used as frequently as some other services, the most widely used online public service, by far, relates to tax.
• Social protection, Health, Gov.ie and other services feature less prominently by comparison.
• Use of public services online correspondents with age, with older ages more likely to rely on offline means, but still overwhelmingly favouring online.
The results were published by my Department and are available here: report-of-the-public-consultation-on-digital-public-services.pdf
