Experts differ over Information Age progress
Lack of awareness among locals on objectives
The Examiner, Thursday, September 24th, 1998
EXACTLY one year ago, the champagne flowed at Dublin’s Point Theatre as
Ennis celebrated winning Telecom Èireann’s Information Age Town
Project, beating off competition from 50 other towns to win the £15m
prize.
Hundreds of members of the Ennis public turned out for an open-air celebration
to welcome the triumphant task force on their return home in anticipation
of the technology bonanza and on year one they have not been disappointed
as the infrastructure is now place rocketing Ennis into the next Millennium.
Since June, over 3,072 Ennis house-holds have already taken delivery of
their Dell multi-media PCs at a cost of £260 to each home; a digital
fibre optic ring has been installed around Ennis facilitating ‘split second’
transmission of a range of data and also since last March the town’s schools
have benefited where 470 multimedia PCs have been installed in specially
adapted computer laboratories.
Chief Executive of the Information Age Town Task Force, Michael Byrne yesterday
expressed satisfaction on progress to date. He said: ”A lot of the groundwork
has been completed and now it is our objective to use the technology to
shape our own ends. It is a local operation and we will be doing it in
a local way.”
However, Information Technology Expert and member of the Task Force IT
sub-committee, Donal Crotty yesterday expressed concern that there was
a lack of awareness among the local population as to what were the objectives
or the purpose of the project.
He said: “For the implementation of the technology, you would give the
project eight or nine out of ten. However, during the 12 months, the project
has failed badly through a lack of information and communication from the
project. It should have given weekly updates in The Clare Champion, but
that didn’t happen, stemming form a lack of appreciation of the importance
of communicating with the public.”
Reacting to Mr Crotty’s comments, Michael Byrne said yesterday: ”I would
like to think we have learned our lessons as any organisation and we are
increasing our presence in the local media. The distribution of a newsletter
to Ennis households this week, giving an update, will also ensure that
the public are informed of the up-to-date situation.” Mr Byrne added that
a Communication sub-committee has been formed to deal with the issue.
Mr Crotty is critical of the familiarisation programme, undertaken by 1,825
people not familiar with a PC, stating that what was initially billed as
a training programme had been downgraded, “providing very little benefit
to those participating.”
Denying that the familiarisation programme was a downgrading, Michael Byrne
said there had been a very positive feedback, both from the trainees and
tutors in the programme where almost 2,000 people underwent the familiarisation
programme in two months.
The absence of an active web site also brought criticism. Donal Crotty
said: “The web site is to be formally launched at the end of September
and it is a disgrace that it has taken that long. A web site should act
as a window for the information age for outsiders and that has not been
utilised.”
However, Michael Byrne said a web site could have been launched within
a short period of winning the prize: “However, the task force was mandated
to concentrate on the ground-work first. It should be noted that only 500
Ennis people had internet access in July, whereas now it is 4,500, making
it a good time to launch the site. At the moment, we are concentrating
our focus on the local people being directly affected by the project.”
While the provision of multi-media PCs to the town’s schools promises to
revolutionise education in Ennis, it has emerged that the programme has
left a number of schools in severe debt accommodating the PC’s.
Three schools have been forced to spend an estimated £60,000 in total
from their own budgets to relocate students in newly built prefabs to enable
the conversion of existing classrooms to computer laboratories.
An exasperated Gary Stack, school principal of the Ennis Boys National
School said yesterday: “The cost of accommodating the PCs is equivalent
to roughly two-thirds of the school’s total annual capitation grant of
£30,000 through the construction of a prefab and converting an existing
classroom. The school is in debt as a result. The Department of Education’s
input has been nil; we have been left on our own to provide the infrastructure.”
Commenting on the Information Age Town Experience for Ennis schools, School
principal of Scoil Chriost Rí, Pat Hanrahan said: “In many ways,
it has been traumatic for the schools; classes have been moved, the costs
incurred have been large and there has been additional work for staff who
have been very flexible and innovative with no particular reward.”
However, like other principals, Mr Hanrahan said there is great enthusiasm
among teaching staff and among students to take advantage of the opportunity
afforded by the PCs. He said: “There is now a strong connection for students
between the home and school through the home PCs and the school PCs, where
students are using the computers as a learning resource. The teachers are
very anxious that the children will benefit.”
A Department of Education spokesman said yesterday the building implications
of the allocation of the PCs to Ennis schools are being assessed in the
context of the IT2000 Programme by the Educational Research Centre and
the National Centre for Technology. The spokesman could not specify a date
on which a decision will be made. As well as providing PCs for schools,
the Task Force has allocated 60 PCs to seven training centres to cater
with people for special needs underlining the project’s specific focus
on social inclusion and working to incorporate all the requirements of
a diverse society.
Greg Duff, spokesperson for one of the centres concerned, Clare Unemployment
Resource Centre said yesterday: “The PCs have been a God-send to the centre
allowing us to open at night-time for the first time. We have now ten classes
of ten people and in terms of self-esteem, it has been great for the people
involved. However, the question remains, will they access quality jobs
as a result.
“Expressing delight at the provision of PCs to the centres, Donal Crotty
said the acid test for the project is how it will change the lives of people.
He said: “To date, it hasn’t done that in any real way. Maybe, I’m impatient,
but I desperately want it to succeed. It needs to have a community element.
The launch of an Intranet, where you will be able to contact local sports
group and community organisations is vital for the future of the project.
I believe that it cannot be successful without the aid of outside assistance.”
Michael Byrne, driving the project since his appointment last May, said
the heart of the project will now be contained within 10 recently formed
sub-committees which will develop strategies in relation to education,
health and social care, government and public services and social inclusion.
Mr Byrne said: “The demand side of the project where the consumers have
been equipped with the technology is almost successfully completed and
now the test is how the supply side interacts with the public through public
organisations, community bodies and other bodies.”
Acknowledging that the formal launch of the Intranet is 12 months away,
Mr Byrne said changes have already been seen in how people conduct their
lives, and this will become more apparent in future months as simple everyday
interactions like ordering a pizza or enquiring on a planning application
will be completed on line.
He said: “A very good start has been made and it is a credit to the Ennis
public how they have interacted so generously. A lot of work needs to be
done and I am confident we will achieve our worthwhile objectives.”
Back to Press Clippings