What the Digital Services Unit (the DSU) does
The Digital Services Unit (the DSU) leads on digital transformation across government.
We draw on best practice in change management and software engineering to develop services and applications for the public, government departments, and public bodies.
We take an agile project management approach that focuses on working efficiently to achieve high quality end results, using open source software solutions where possible.
Our delivery team is a blend of in-house and external expertise.
The policies that drive our work
We’re at the centre of Ireland’s commitment to The EU Digital Decade, which guides countries in shaping their digital policies in line with the European values of fairness, equality, freedom and protection.
A key theme of Civil Service Renewal 2030, the Irish Government’s 10-year reform strategy, is achieving a digital and innovation led culture where people can access 90% of suitable government services online within this decade.
Better Public Services is the public sector’s commitment to working together to provide inclusive, high quality and integrated services that meet people’s needs and improve their lives.
The aim is to deliver digital innovation at scale to: tackle big societal issues, drive change, achieve a seamless user experience, provide inclusive service delivery and an agile and dynamic workplace.
It sets out that the public service will work together to deliver people-centred services designed with evidence and insights from the public and from data and research.
The Harnessing Digital framework reflects Ireland’s ambition to remain a digital leader at the heart of European and global digital developments.
We are leveraging the move to digital services that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic to create efficient, trusted and inclusive world-leading digital government services.
Connecting Government 2030 sets out the plan to create trusted, human-driven, intuitive and inclusive world-leading government services.
We have all had experience of having to give the same personal details many times to several agencies when seeking public services. In 2023, Ireland adopted the EU’s Once Only Principle initiative within the framework of the Single Digital Gateway, committing to only asking once for such information, rather than many times.
About us
We have four divisions, or ‘pillars of excellence’ here within the DSU.
These are:
- Policy and Analysis
- Design and Content
- Applications and Architecture
- Operations and Assurance
Priorities for us at present are:
- continual improvement
- setting up the Life Events service
- maintaining the highest standards of cyber security
Policy and Analysis
The Policy and Analysis team advises on digital policy, including EU and national policy, especially in relation to important strategic initiatives such as Life Events and other digital transformation related projects.
Its primary role is business analysis, using a user-centric approach to assess and evaluate incoming requirements into the DSU, through a formal project gateway process.
Design and Content
The Design and Content team leads on the user experience and service design aspect of the DSU’s work, ensuring that people who use government services are always at the heart of what we do.
The team established the all-of-government website, gov.ie - a vital trusted source of information for the public and businesses.
The Design and Content team is leading on delivering the best standard of user experience for the Life Events services and the Government Digital Wallet.
Applications and Architecture
The Applications and Architecture team provide support for the OGCIO’s Build to Share services to more than 50 government departments and agencies.
These use the Microsoft stack, and include the document management system eDocs and the Freedom of Information case manager eFOI.
Applications and Architecture also uses a number of open source technologies.
Operations and Assurance
Operations and Assurance look after the assurance of services before they go live, and the rollout of systems across government departments and agencies. It provides ongoing support for those services once they are operational.
This team is responsible for the assurance and operations of approximately 100 web sites, applications and software components that are used on a daily basis across a wide range of government departments and agencies.
Our service providers
Our work is supported by three service provider partners selected through a procurement process in 2022.
They are:
- Global Logic
- Storm
- Nearform
The OGCIO and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform are jointly leading this groundbreaking innovation.
Life Events will give people quick and easy access to digital services and allow them to safely store their important documents, such as a driving licence or a birth certificate, on their phone.
A ‘life event’ is a significant event in someone’s life, such as a birth, death or marriage, learning to drive, getting or losing a job, getting healthcare or opening a business. Life events frequently involve interactions with government or public services.
There will be a single point of contact where you provide your personal information just once, instead of having to give details such as your name, address or date of birth, many times to different public bodies.
Starting with the driving licence, a range of digital licences, certificates and credentials will be rolled out over time.
An integral part of Life Events, the Government Digital Wallet is the place to securely store digital versions of important documents such as your driving licence, birth certificate or European Health Insurance card, all in one place on an app on your phone.
Currently in its pilot phase, the Government Digital Wallet is being tested with a group of 1,000 civil servant users ahead of a wider public launch later this year.
MyGovID
MyGovID is a joint initiative by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Social Protection and is an integral part of our Life Events and Digital Wallet services.
It provides citizens with a safe and secure ‘single sign on’ to their public services in Ireland.
Read more about MyGovID and create an account or login to your account
Online services that can be built and run easily
To help government and public bodies provide a range of online services more easily and efficiently, we developed Building Blocks. These are a set of compatible software tools for messaging, digital forms, online payments and case management. They are designed to have a unified look and feel, and work in harmony with our Life Events services.
Users can complete an online form, send and receive information, make secure payments and receive notifications, all through a low cost, well-designed set of tools that have accessibility built in from the start.
Government departments, agencies and public bodies can use any number of these Building Blocks to create solutions that meet their needs.
With Building Blocks you can:
- Complete a form online
- Send and receive notifications and information
- Pay for services
The Building Blocks include:
FormsIE
An online form that is user-friendly, efficient and accessible
Payments
A secure and efficient way to do financial transactions giving users peace of mind every time they use it.
Messaging
The messaging building block as a communication tool that helps government and public services communicate with the public in a streamlined way.
DesignSystem
The building blocks all use the same unified design so that a consistent look and feel runs right across government digital services.
The DSU manages the gov.ie website, a trusted source of government information and services for both everyday needs and in times of crisis.
gov.ie promotes the use of plain English and accessible content across government. While each government department and agency is responsible for its own content, the gov.ie team provides support and guidance to ensure it is maintained at a high standard.
Government departments and agencies on gov.ie
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
Department of Rural and Community Development
Department of Social Protection
Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Other bodies/agencies hosted on gov.ie
Office of the Attorney General
Chief State Solicitor’s Office
Office of the Chief Medical Officer
Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information
Commission for Public Service Appointments
Office of Government Procurement
Office of the Information Commissioner
This is a key element in delivering Life Events and the Government Digital Wallet. Our Information Mediator project involves building a core component that will allow government applications across Europe to interact with each other, to improve delivery of digital public services across the EU.
Maintaining cyber security to the highest standards is a priority for the DSU. We are working on achieving the latest cyber security accreditation standard.
We provide a range of tools that are used by government departments and agencies to provide their services.
In the final quarter of 2023, we began migrating all Build To Share tenants to a new application that improves security and performance.
The suite of Build to Share tools used by departments and agencies to provide their services includes:
- eSubmissions
- ePQ
- eDocs
- eFOI
- eRisk
- eCorrespondence
- eCabinet
- eList
- eCase
- HIVE
- Intranet
- JitBit (Service Desk)
We look after these government to government websites:
- Office of the Government Chief Information Officer
- Civil Service HR
- National Shared Services Office
- Public Service Pensions
- Civil Service Renewal
We provide web and digital design, web hosting and content design services and deliver a number of web applications used across government.
These include:
- The Single Customer View - a way for public bodies to verify customer data
- Death Events Publishing Service (DEPS) - distributes information on death events to public sector bodies
- The Performance Management Development System (ePMDS) - supports the management of performance in the Civil Service
- The eProbation system - supports managers assessing whether an employee on probation is suitable for a role to which they have been appointed
- eCase - our case management system is used across the public sector, and will be a key supporting application in the managing the back office support for Life Events services
- eDocs - we are upgrading eDocs, the document and records management system used by government departments and agencies, to a more modern interface. This work will continue throughout 2024, with an emphasis on keeping data secure on the government cloud platform
- DigitalPostbox - a safe and secure way for public bodies to communicate with their customers and at the same time reduce costs and paper waste
