IN THE current economic climate, Brian Cowen will face many challenges in his new role as Taoiseach. The recent OECD report - Ireland - Towards an Integrated Public Sector- is a case in point.

In essence, it provides Mr Cowen with a roadmap for public sector reform, something for which he has publicly declared his support as minister for finance.

One area of particular note in the OECD report is the concern that Ireland is falling behind in international benchmarks of online service provision, often termed e-government.

Initial progress was good; several years ago, Ireland was ranked respectably in the Accenture global rankings on e-government progress, mainly due to the successful implementation of ROS, the Revenue Online Service.

Information portals such as Basis (Business Access to State Information and Services) and Oasis (Online Access to Services, Information and Support) were being designed around the major life events of businesses (start-up, development, employment, paying taxes) and citizens (birth, marriage and death). Other sites were not just informational but also transactional, allowing for example, the online payment of motor tax and waste charges. Queuing for many Government services was becoming a thing of the past.

However, several of the more recent e-government experiences have been negative, with high-profile projects scrapped, delayed or way over budget. Electronic voting, PPARS and integrated ticketing have become part of the Irish lexicon for failure.

As a result, momentum has been lost and there is a distinct lack of political appetite in making Ireland a leader in the information society.

Typically, about 30 per cent of government administration expenditure supports direct, usually face- to-face interactions with citizens, so the potential for improved services and cost savings is considerable.

This is no simple challenge. While a positive front-end or customer experience is critical, it is improvements at the back-end that really characterise a sophisticated approach to e-government.

"Joined-up government" is the Holy Grail but unfortunately, present government structures are islands of automation, with poor information-sharing and little horizontal integration. Automatic sharing of information horizontally across diverse government back offices has the potential to reduce errors, minimise duplication and eliminate unnecessary customer intervention.

Best private-sector practices in organisational structures, process design, project management and speed of execution must be examined. In the private sector, firms typically make IT investments to eliminate business inefficiencies. Linked IT systems provided an integrated, whole-company approach to meeting customer needs - exactly what is necessary in the public sector.

There is no single minister given e-government responsibility to implement effective e-government. Such leadership is critical to develop and communicate the vision for an e-enabled government and overcome the significant organisational challenges ahead.

In responding to the OECD report and in line with his stated commitment to public sector reform, Mr Cowen should ensure that e-government progress becomes the central platform of his tenure as Taoiseach.

Kevin Kernan is head of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Ireland).