We must think beyond next drink to secure e-future

Which is more important to the nation: determining the regulatory and social framework of what is swiftly becoming the central defining element of our economy and society, or deciding where and when you can have a pint?

OK, I know we're going into the weekend and therefore one of these choices seems more immediately pressing. One is also a lot easier to talk about. We can all be experts on drinks laws, as the anguished citizenry ringing Joe Duffy's radio show has demonstrated all week.

Apparently, that's what most members of the Dail think, too. As they approach the summer recess, they're ready to spend a considerable portion of their valuable and diminishing working hours debating the pressing matter of whether or not you can book the local GAA hall for your next boozy birthday party if you're not a member of the club.

They seem a lot less willing to try to ensure that Ireland has a reasonable chance of maintaining a competitive economy in the future.

This was the choice before Government this week: a) talk about licensing laws; b) get the absolutely crucial e-commerce Bill through its second reading in the Dail so the State gains its critical protections for electronic signatures, use of encryption, and formal recognition of electronic documents.

No award for guessing which alternative lured the majority. Indeed, some 40 speakers from both the Government and Opposition sides indicated their intention to formally voice their opinion this week on the vital topic of drink.

Unfortunately, this preoccupation with alcohol and who should be able to serve it and when meant that the planned debate on the Government's e-commerce Bill was shelved.

The few Government members who actually have contributed to the debate and the Department of Public Enterprise, which has sponsored the Bill, are worried that it may not receive the scrutiny and discussion it should.

More critically, they fear it may not make it through the Dail at all before the summer break.

If that is the case, we will be losing all first-mover advantage we have had on many e-commerce issues and announcing to the world that, um, yeah, we'd kind of like you to view us as a tech-savvy state that would kind of like to be your e-business home in Europe, but hey - whatever, you know?

In the meantime, the British e-commerce Bill has just received royal assent. Numerous Bills are also under consideration in the US and even the sluggish European Commission is actually coming up with some e-commerce legislation of its own.

At one point, the Republic was a leader in tackling e-commerce issues and, for a while, threatened to be the first state with a comprehensive set of e-commerce laws on the books.

No longer. Dail members have got to recognise that it is their job to come to grips with these complex issues and shape a responsible and responsive information age environment for the State.

Yes, such issues as privacy protections, electronic signatures, encryption and digital-age copyright make your head pound worse than a litre of cheap poitin, but they are issues which concern all of us and are deeply important.

It is a total abdication of responsibility to the people who employ them (the people, after all, are their employers, remember?) for members of the State legislature not to be informed, actively grapple with these subjects and lay the foundations for Ireland's economic future.

Especially if that member has ever lobbied for a high tech, or indeed, any major business project to locate in his or her district.

Especially if that member cares about Government for the people, protections on civil rights, a productive educational system and a growth economy.

Some senators and TDs have shown a commitment to tackling such issues by contributing to the debate on the current e-commerce Bill as it has moved through the Seanad and Dail - even if at times it is clear they are struggling with terminology and concepts (as are we all).

They include Messrs Ivan Yates, Brian O'Shea, Sean Fleming, John McGuinness, Sean Ardagh, Michael Ring, Joe Costello, Fergus O'Dowd, Feargal Quinn, Tom Fitzgerald and Tom Kitt. Perhaps their fellows could make sure time is made next week to finish the debate on the Bill so that it stands a chance of getting through the remaining legislative processes and becoming law before the Dail breaks at the end of this month.

klillington@irish-times.ie