The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, has announced the appointment of an Irish government chief information officer (CIO).
Despite the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD, in February of 2012 stating that there had been no progress on the issue of a government CIO and that the government was in fact rethinking the idea, the post was advertised in March of this year.
The appointee is Bill McCluggage. A former director of eGovernment and then CIO for Northern Ireland, the announcement of his appointment says, McCluggage "led the development and successful implementation of a range of strategies that have transformed Northern Ireland’s public services’ interface with the citizen and the delivery of public sector back offices services."
It goes on to say that as Deputy Government CIO in the Cabinet Office in London, McCluggage led a multi-disciplinary team which developed UK Government’s national ICT strategy. McCluggage holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University, Belfast, an MSc in Aerosystems Engineering, is a member of the Institute of Engineering, Technology and Chartered Engineers, a fellow of the British Computer Society and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster.
"I welcome the appointment of Mr. Bill McCluggage," said Minister Howlin. "Bill will provide guidance and leadership at the executive level across the entire IT spectrum, and will take responsibility for the development of the ICT strategy for Government and the wider public service."
"Bill will positively influence the direction of technology enabled change across the public service in Ireland and play a key role in the delivery of the Government’s strategic change objectives. I look forward to working with Bill in that context," said Secretary General Robert Watt.
As government CIO, McCluggage will report to the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, but will hold ultimate responsibility for the strategic direction of technology in support of the wider mission and strategic change objectives in the Public Sector. McCluggage will lead the CIO Council and will drive the implementation of the eGovernment and Cloud Computing strategies, according to the statement.
"I look forward to the opportunity to work with the CIO Council, colleagues across Government and industry, and with the senior management team in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform under Minister Brendan Howlin and Secretary General Robert Watt to make a tangible difference to the delivery of public services across Ireland through effective use of technology, eGovernment and Cloud computing," said McCluggage.
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