81. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the measures being taken to ensure that the continued digitalisation of public services does not disadvantage older people, people with disabilities or those with limited digital literacy; and the way in which access to in-person and telephone services will be maintained where needed. [74918/26]

The strategic goal to digitalise public services carries with it a risk of excluding people from participating fully with these services, if their individual needs and preferences are not factored in to the design of these digital-first, but not digital-only, services.

Work to develop the Life Events model for Irish public services so far has included engagement across a range of users with amplified needs when engaging with public services. This has included research with older adults and adults with intellectual disabilities to understand their preferences, challenges and needs when engaging digitally with the State. Understanding the experience of such users is the primary starting point for building out public services, recognising that access is dependent on having the requisite skills, and knowledge, and also the availability of material resources and connectivity.

This approach has allowed the work to move beyond merely increasing digitisation and toward a more holistic set of digitally enabled services that can be accessed across multiple channels, including over the telephone and are centered on the needs of the user, proactively mitigating exclusion.

Through the process of design the human journey of using a service is mapped out end to end based on real insight helping to highlight shared challenges and opportunities for improvement. These maps inform future blueprints for how the service could work and guide transformation teams in solving the right problems that bring about the greatest impact on the humans using the service.