Information Technology, Partnership, Register of Electors, Higher Education Grants

Information Technology

Development of I.T. Services continued during 2004 with the emphasis on creating the conditions to enable electronic service provision for the future and maximising the use of Information Technology to monitor the flow of information in the organisation.

The Customer Services Desk was set up in April 2004 to provide a single point of contact to members of the public. This was supported by the e-Direct Contact Management System which is a computerised system to log all queries and track them until they are dealt with and the query is closed. Members of the public who submit a query are given a query number which they can use to follow up the query at a later stage.

The iDocs Document Imaging System which stores electronically all Planning documentation has been implemented in the Planning Section. This will allow for a reduction in the amount of paper to be processed, enabling more efficient processing of planning applications, enhanced provision of information on the Internet and will facilitate the making of planning applications online in the future.

Utilisation of the Planning GIS (Geographic Information System) to improve information provision using G-Plan (GIS enquiries) allows access to the Planning Register on a PC by staff, and at the public counter. This facility will be developed further to allow such information to be accessed on the Internet. This, combined with Document Imaging, will give access via the Internet to all appropriate documentation on any planning application.

Implementation of the Government Virtual Private Network in mid-2004 has given high speed access to the Internet and e-mail while reducing the cost of such services. It also enables secure communications between local authorities and Government Departments.

The drive for provision of online services has continued with the implementation of online payment of Traffic Fines. This enables members of the public to pay traffic fines from their own homes via the Internet at any time. It is intended to expand availability in the future to cover other services.

 
Partnership

Action Plan is adopted as part of Strategic Plan 2003-2005 ‘Deepening Partnership’. The Partnership Committee adopted an Action Plan to consolidate the concept of consensus and team-working to the end of 2005.

• The Partnership Committee continued to be actively involved in Partnership Projects throughout the year.
• Launch of Employee Assistance Programme
• Return to Learning Programme
• Sligo County Council participated with other agencies, North and South of the border to develop a framework on health and well-being in the workplace.
• Function for retired staff
• Staff magazine ‘Contact’ was launched to the public in December

Register of Electors

The Council prepares the Register of Electors annually.  There are 47,906 electors registered on the 2004/2005 Register. The cost of preparing the Register is borne by the Council and is estimated to be €109,000 in 2004.

Higher Education Grants

Sligo County Council assisted 434 students under the 2003 Higher Education Grants Scheme. There were 171 new applicants and 263 continuing students. The scheme is administered by the Council on behalf of the Department of Education and Science.

In the academic year 2003/2004, Sligo County Council allocated €114,407 in Social Maintenance Grant assistance.  A total of €1,561,187 was allocated in 2003/2004 by Sligo County Council to students in maintenance and fees.