New Connections - Department of Taoiseach

(7.3) Internet Services Provision for Community & Voluntary SectorIS Sec• To pilot the development of low-cost ISP, web-hosting and technical support solutionsfor community and voluntary groupsUpdateMuintir na Tíre, with the assistance of the Department of Social and Family Affairs,piloted the implementation of ISP facilities in 2002 by building a portal which may beused by community and voluntary groups. An evaluation of the project including a setof recommendations on enhancements to the facility was published in November 2002(www.muintir.ie/ict/ict.html)Work is on-going to prioritise follow-on actions for 2003 that will build on theachievements of 2002 and will inform a submission for additional funding. Any suchfunding decisions will be considered in the context of the outcome of the review of theeInclusion Implementation Strategy.(7.4) CAIT InitiativeCRGA• Encourage late adopters to engage with information and communication technologiesin a beneficial way• Empower communities to harness the benefits of the new technologies• Employ information and communications technologies to overcome particular socioeconomicbarriers which exist for some communitiesUpdateThe second CAIT Initiative was launched in February 2002 and will be completed byJune 2003. Up to €3 million was made available from the Information Society Fund tofund the scheme. This figure includes administration costs for the scheme as well asfunding for the individual projects. Fifty projects throughout the country are currentlybeing funded under this 2nd initiative - giving a total of 121 projects being funded underCAIT. A further group of applications are currently being assessed and the successfulprojects among these applicants will be awarded funding before the end of 2002.Work Research Co-operative, Social and Economic Research Consultants Ltd. havebeen contracted to evaluate how successfully the CAIT projects are achieving their goalsof encouraging the target groups to participate fully in the Information Society. Thefinal report will be published in early 2003 and will be available on http://www.cait.ie./The need for a further initiative including the question of funding is already being55