Press release
Minister O'Donovan Announces new eGovernment Service
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister of State with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Patrick O’Donovan TD, today announced plans to deliver a new eGovernment service, known as the Government Digital Postbox solution, which will provide new choices for citizens around the receipt of Government letters.
The Digital Postbox will give citizens the opportunity to receive their post from Government digitally in a secure electronic mailbox. This will give citizens safe, secure and convenient access to important government letters, simply by going online using the device of their choice. The Postbox service will be delivered as a single shared platform available for all Public Service Bodies to communicate with individuals.
Minister O’Donovan said:
"This is an exciting, innovative project for the Irish Government, and provides an opportunity to deliver real digital transformation in a more joined-up and integrated manner for the benefit of Irish citizens. The concept of a Digital Postbox is not novel, it is an initiative that is in use in other parts of Europe and is held in very high citizen regard. Denmark and Norway in particular, have successfully delivered Digital Postbox solutions resulting in a faster and more efficient communication process between Government and citizens. The Irish Government, through the building of our own Digital Postbox solution, is seeking to attain similar success. The Digital Postbox aims to bring about real change and improvements in how Government communicates with citizens. It will put citizens at the centre – providing them with fast, efficient access to manage and organise their communications in a safe and secure manner. I look forward to seeing the benefits and positive outcomes that its implementation will deliver.”
The introduction of a Digital Postbox has the potential to make substantial savings on current government expenditure on the delivery of physical post – this is expected to deliver many millions of euro in savings.
The Digital Postbox will be offered on an opt-in basis to citizens, putting the citizen in control, and allowing them to choose if they wish to avail of this service. The solution is planned to go live by the end of 2019, and public bodies will then adopt its use for the delivery of post digitally over the coming years in a phased basis.
Note: The solution will be provided by e-Boks, a Danish company, following an EU procurement process.
ENDS