Ireland as Knowledge Society

The Irish government has a Minister of State with responsibility for the Information Society — an interesting governmental appointment that reflects the realities of life in modern Ireland and the claim of the current government that the creation of an inclusive knowledge society is a priority. He speaks of encouraging and enabling the user of ICT’s in everyday life, even using phrases such as ‘e-inclusion’. It’s a bold idea but the financial commitment so far seems to have been limited to about 1mEuro per year since 2004, aimed at various projects which provide better information to citizens. To what extent the program will deliver on the stated mission of enabling access to those without resources (often the elderly, poor, and disabled) remains to be seen. See: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/10008