10.03.2003 - Launch of the IDAAL Website

Introduction  

It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to launch the www.idaal.com  website and I would like to thank Brother Lennon for inviting me.  Having listened to Pasty relay to us how the idaal consortium came about, I was struck by how the simplest of ideas are the hardest to find and the best to have. It makes perfect sense to have one place where everyone, from Tory Island to downtown Killarney, can access up-to-date information in the field of intellectual disabilities, mental health and related subjects. And more so that the organisations involved would form the first ever consortium of its type to facilitate it.  

I warmly congratulate you on this achievement. I have no doubt that this website will be an invaluable source of information for all those involved in the intellectual disabilities area  - from the mother of the autistic child to the nurse who wishes to look up the Adolescent Medicine Journal. 

Information & ICTs

Information means opportunity and empowerment, and coupled with the right use of technology it offers a powerful key to improve our circumstances.  Idaal.com is a perfect example. However, empowerment comes from access to information. This is particularly true today as we operate in an Information Society.  

Last month, I visited St. Josephs House for Adult Deaf and Deafblind in Stillorgan and I was particularly struck by how they were using Information and Communication technology (ICTs).  Previously, deafblind residents could not access real time Irish news.  They only had news that was one month old, that had to come from the UK and that was the content of newspapers from England.  Now, by using ICTs, they can print off in braille the daily news from Irish newspapers. Understandably, it has made an enormous difference to them, their lives and to the lives of people around them. 

Libraries  

I understand that the five organizations in IDAAL are involved in caring for people with intellectual disabilities of all ages.  In order to care, one has to understand.  And in order to understand one has to have the relevant information. And as you have seen here today, modern technologies enable us to access information in new ways, to do it faster, more efficiently, at times that suit us, and very often with less effort. 

Traditionally in Ireland, libraries have been one of the major sources of information for the general public.  It was only last year that we celebrated the 100th anniversary of Carnegie libraries in Ireland. IDAAL is continuing that tradition in pooling the resources of its many libraries and collectively subscribing to web-based information services.  This displays real commitment to the continuous development of all staff and to providing quality services for all who use your services. 

I would like to commend the work of the five librarians whose idea this was, and who have made IDAAL.com a reality: - Brigid Kennedy, Vivienne OHerlihy, Sue Faulkner, Patsy Carton, and Siobhan ONeill. 

Today gives us the opportunity to congratulate you on a job very well done.  You have worked hard in applying your considerable talents, through using technology, for the betterment of your organisations and to the benefit of citizens.   

We should always remember that though we operate in an Information Society, technology is but an enabler.  It is a tool to help us realise our goals and to deliver social or economic benefit.  But at the centre is the citizen. 

The Government have long recognized the important societal role of libraries and librarians. Through the Information Society Fund, we have put in place in every library in Ireland an Internet PC.  Members of the public can access the Internet free of charge using these PCs.  And all librarians have been trained in how to assist people to use the Internet. 

eInclusion

As more and more people regularly use technology in their daily activities, citizens who lack access to these tools are at a growing disadvantage.  My goal, as Minister for Information Society, is an Information Society for all.  One of the key challenges of this is to ensure that no group is left behind.  To be at the wrong side of the digital divide means less opportunity to take part in the new information-based economy. 

That is why the Information Society Commission, the Governments Advisory Body on these matters, is currently involved in asking both the general public and the business community what are the current barriers to participating in the Information Society. And also why the Social Partners have included in their proposed new Agreement a special initiative called Including Everybody in the Information Society.   

Experience has shown that ICTs will only unfold their potential if they is coupled with an investment in skills of employees and with changes to how we work.  This applies equally to the private and public sector.  My Government is playing a key leadership role in driving wider engagement with ICTs.   

Our goal is to have all public services that are capable of electronic delivery available online, through a single point of contact, by 2005 whether that is getting a passport, getting your birth cert or paying your motor tax. This approach will ensure that users of the services have the option of communicating with us in whatever way works best for them. Whether this is telephone, contact centres or one-stop-shops, the choice is that of the user.   

New technologies such as mobile phones or the Internet have become popular because they make it so much easier for us to communicate and to access information.  Our challenge is to tap into the greater potential of these technologies and make them work for us. Through IDAAL.com, you certainly have achieved this.   

Conclusion

Last Friday, four secondary schools pupils, who were winners of a National Essay Competition, presented me with their Vision for Ireland in 2012.  Their ideas varied from: -  

The learning of Chinese through a Virtual Language Laboratory set up to look like a street in Beijing

Watches and mini PCs connecting families together to increase safety

Moving web cams bringing the wonders of the world live in real time.  

It is along way from when Pauls namesake, Frank Ledwidge, one of our great romantic poets wrote his first verse.  It was on a school slate to remind the teacher of granting a half-holiday on Shrove Tuesday. There are some things that do not change. 

St. John of God Conference Centre, Stillorgan