7 April 2006

Minister for local government Jim Fitzpatrick spoke in praise of e-government developments, but said more must be done to drive take-up of the services.

Speaking at a dinner held in Greenwich in London, Mr Fitzpatrick said: "e-government is a great example of central government and local government working together effectively."

He added that local governments should be proud of all the positive changes achieved through the implementation of e-government services such as improving service delivery.

However he explained that all local authorities needed to work hard to encourage a greater take-up of electronic services, adding that their efforts would be supported by a national e-government take-up campaign starting in May.

"We want people to connect to their council and to use DirectGov," he said, speaking about the online centralised portal that links up to all local government services.

"Local government is generating the e-support that local government needs.

"We are now transferring knowledge and sharing knowledge and change," he concluded.

© Adfero Ltd

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