57 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance the number of civil servants who have individual E-mail addresses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10634/96]

59 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, he has to increase the number of individual civil servants with E-mail addresses at specific target dates in the future. [10694/96]

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 57 and 59 together.

Electronic mail facilities are extensively used throughout the Civil Service providing communications within and between Government Departments and also with external agencies. For internal communications, E-mail facilities are typically available to all civil servants within a Department. The availability of external facilities to civil servants is a decision for individual Departments.

My Department actively promotes the use of E-mail facilities between Departments, and the 1996 edition of the Government Telecommunications Network Directory lists the E-mail addresses of almost 4,000 civil servants for this purpose. The use of E-mail continues to grow significantly within the Civil Service and, with the recent launch of the Government Pages on the Internet, those Departments connected to the Government Internet site now have the capability to generate Internet E-mail, in most cases from the desktop.