I am very pleased to be here this morning in the beautiful setting of Dublin Castle to open this conference on “The Re-use of Public Sector Information.” 

It is great to see so many people here today for what promises to be a very informative and interesting day.  We have Freedom of Information Officers from many public bodies, IT and information managers, public and private-sector re-users of information and private-sector content developers present. I would also like to give a warm welcome to those present here today representing the UK Government and the European Commission.

The Re-Use of Public Sector Information may be new to some of you however it has been around as a concept for a long time in the likes of the United States of America and other jurisdictions.  The OECD is also keenly interested in this area and has held a number of workshops and conferences on the issues involved through its Working Party on the Information Economy.  Within Europe of course, the Directive on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information has been around since late 2003 with transposition by most Member States occurring in 2005.

I was honoured in June of this year when the Taoiseach appointed me as Minister for Innovation Policy at the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Education and Science and I can see that the “Re-use of Public Sector Information” actually ties in very strongly with the innovation agenda that I am trying to advance.

The generation and focussed application of innovation is one of the central tenets of the Government’s Strategy for Science Technology & Innovation 2006 to 2013. Indeed, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s current Strategy Statement is built around four pillars, the first of which is “Enterprise, Innovation and Growth.”

Innovation is a key driver of competitiveness. If Ireland is to make a successful transition to innovation and knowledge-based competitiveness then we need to create the correct environment to permit, encourage and sustain innovative creativity. The Lisbon Agenda seeks to make Europe the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010 and the Re-Use of Public Sector Information is a key element of this. 

The technology that has grown up around the Information Society gives us some previously unprecedented possibilities.  One of these is to combine information from different sources to produce a vast array of value-added products and services.  We are all aware of the variety of products available based on digital maps.  I’m sure that some of you will have used one or more such products planning your trip to Dublin Castle today. 

However, as you will hear today from some of the speakers, there is demand for all types of public sector information, be it laws and regulations; administrative procedures and rules; business statistics, weather and traffic information or tendering opportunities.

I accept that it might not always easy to identify and quantify what data might be of interest to others, particularly if that data is being combined with data from other sources to produce added-value services or products.  Indeed, this is the essence of innovation: - being able to see opportunities and markets where others cannot and transferring that knowledge into valuable products and services for the benefit of our economy and people. 

What is important for the public bodies involved is that they recognise the attributes of the data they make available.  Dynamic or time-bound data such as weather, traffic or travel information must be made available in a timely manner to make the products or services based on it viable.  This type of data also needs to be kept current if it is to be of use.  Static data or data that changes infrequently such as legislation, business statistics and administrative procedures takes on very different attributes.  It may only be published once or may be updated on a set schedule. 

In all cases however the ability of a re-user to recognise that the information has changed or to be notified if the publication of this information ceases is critical.  Products and services based on this information will not be dependable nor will they be sustainable, without re-users being kept informed of these changes.  These are some of the challenges facing public bodies if they are to make information available for re-use.

The imperative now is that the public sector, in conjunction with private-sector content developers, both within Ireland and across the EU Member States, extracts maximum value from this information.  For the public administration this means documenting the information we collect while carrying out our public task and determining whether it can be made available, and, if so, at what cost. 

In the spirit of the EU Directive, it is important that as much information be made available as possible and that any licensing and cost regimes that are put in place are fair and reasonable.  Indeed the Directive aims at creating a general framework for the conditions governing reuse of public sector documents in order to ensure fair, proportionate and non-discriminatory conditions for the re-use of such information.

Although there is no obligation on any public body to allow re-use of their information, I believe that it is in all our interests that, where possible, the public administration should embrace this initiative.  According to the MEPSIR study carried out in 2006 the estimates of market size for Re-Use of Public Sector Information within Europe, range from 10 to 48 billion Euros.  This is a significant potential market and we, as public administrators, must do what we can to assist the development of this potential.

The EU Directive distinctly describes certain classes of information that are outside its remit, in particular data held by educational or cultural bodies.  On the other hand, where data is within its remit, it does refer to all data, not just that which is published on websites.  You will hear later on about what stage Ireland is at in our implementation of this Directive.  However, for most public bodies the issue of making data available, which is held within internal systems and databases, is one that has still to be addressed.

I know that some of you may have regulatory and legislative issues with this.  However this Directive does not impinge or override existing access regimes such as Freedom of Information or Data Protection in Ireland.  Indeed, the development of manuals under Section 15 of the Freedom of Information Act allows public bodies to publish indices of data held by them. This is a key element of Public Sector Information. If the market does not know what data is held within the administration then it cannot develop products and services that re-use it.

For the public administration PSI may mean a change of culture.  The idea or prospect of giving away data collected by a public body for free or at a minimal charge, to third-party commercial organisations, may not sit well with some public bodies.  However, if we look at the bigger picture, the potential for economic growth and job creation in this market is limited only by the imagination and innovation of these value-added resellers.

To assist such innovation, I believe companies need to work closely with the enterprise agencies to determine market opportunities for information products and services.  These agencies include Forfás, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. 

The enterprise agencies can provide funding, commercialisation expertise, support services and export advice.  They can connect people with the independent advisory councils and to other state agencies involved in enterprise development.  All of this work helps to promote and develop national policy in the area of information products and services.

Just as I have outlined what the public sector needs to do to maximise the potential of the Re-Use of Public Sector Information, I also call upon the private-sector, and particularly individuals and organisations in the Information and Publishing sectors, to use the facilities available to them within the enterprise agencies. 

It is only through your innovation and expertise in the marketplace that the potential of re-using Public Sector Information can be realised. 

In conclusion then, I would say that this conference is only the beginning of what will be a long and hopefully rewarding journey.  Awareness of the Directive on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information is the first step.  Judging by the wide and varied array of speakers today, the size of this audience and the diversity of public-sector and private-sector bodies represented, I think we can safely say that this awareness is growing.

I would like to wish you all a productive day and I encourage you to make the most of the opportunity you have to network with colleagues from other organisations in assessing how we can all help to make the Re-use of Public Sector Information a viable and productive market for Ireland and for Europe.

Thank You.