The new e-minister will need to prove herself quickly, writes Karlin Lillington

Appointment by stealth - that seems to have been the Taoiseach's rather strange approach to announcing that he had created the role of e-minister and given it to the new Chief Whip, Ms Mary Hanafin.

The position is to be welcomed and industry had lobbied for such an appointment, not just because it felt that information and communications policy towards business, spread across several departments, needed focus and co-ordination. Many individuals and organisations also felt a single point of reference was needed for the multiplicity of information society projects and policies. And most definitely, the whole sprawl needs a galvanising, central force to drive all these initiatives.

So this should have been a key appointment. But the fact that seasoned political writers did not even mention these duties for Ms Hanafin clearly demonstrates that the role was far too hazily defined in the Taoiseach's speech. People understand that Mr Dick Roche is Minister of State for Europe, but what, pray tell, is Ms Hanafin Minister of State for?

Even senior figures in industry are confused by whether there was an e-minister job created - or was this simply putting a face to the information society side of the technology brief? Only Ms Hanafin's own description of her new position to Vincent Browne on morning radio yesterday clarified that she would indeed be coordinating policy across all relevant departments.

This is to be welcomed, as is Ms Hanafin's appointment to this role. The immediate response within knowledgable political circles and from within industry was entirely positive. Ms Hanafin, said many people, is a hard-working and ambitious politician willing to tackle the tough jobs.

SHE has admitted that technology is not her strong point. But she is starting, she said, from a strong commitment to the social policy side of technology. She will need to prove herself quickly across the broader picture however, as many pressing areas of policy must be addressed, and quickly.

For that reason, too, the Government - which sources say dithered up to the last minute over whether to create this role - must immediately show the commitment to and certainty about the position, which failed to come across in the announcement of the appointment.

One assumes the Government will use the British e-minister and e-envoy positions as models for Ms Hanafin's job, as there is little else to go by.

But the British position is different in significant ways from what an Irish position should be. We do not have the same layers of bureaucracy. We need to move more quickly - and we have the ability, as a smaller nation, to implement decisions more rapidly. We need to keep in mind our legal e-commerce framework, which differs from Britain's.

It is also essential that Ms Hanafin's role be properly resourced - funded adequately and given a staff that can actually get the job done. She has been given an enormous task and that needs to be recognised by Government giving it full backing.

And finally, there are concerns about how seriously the Taoiseach sees this job, since it is apparently just an adjunct role for the Chief Whip. Ms Hanafin will have plenty on her hands in fulfilling that role - although it should prove less onerous than it did for Mr Seamus Brennan.

Still, the Government has everything to prove in making this appointment. It has started from a rather clumsy position. Let's hope things improve rapidly.