Transform Gov - the digital government podcast

Louise McKeever started her civil service career as a clerical assistant in 1995. Today, she is the first woman to serve as Ireland’s Government CIO.

In Part 1 of this conversation with TransformGov host Maeve Kneafsey, Louise takes us inside:
🔹 Intreo — how Community Welfare Services, Activation Services and Local Office operations were merged into a single case management model, integrating two commercial providers for the first time, in what may have been the first large-scale Agile programme in Irish government
🔹 Change management under pressure — bringing established specialists onto a new system by treating resistance as a concern for business continuity, not stubbornness
🔹 AI in government, before it was called that — using robotic process automation to clear COVID-era claims backlogs
🔹 AI with humans in control — an NLP tool flagging GDPR anomalies in farm applications, and a satellite-imagery compliance system for Common Agricultural Policy payments, with every payment-affecting decision made by a human officer
🔹 Her own path — from clerical assistant to first female CIO at the Department of Agriculture, to Ireland's first female Government CIO

Part 2 coming soon.

🎧 TransformGov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards, brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

📅 The Ireland eGovernment Awards and Leadership Summit take place 24 September at O'Reilly Hall, UCD. Find out more at digitalgovawards.com

#TransformGov #DigitalGovernment #AI #PublicSector #GovTech #WomenInTech

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An Garda Síochána is replacing paper files, ageing technology and fragmented information with mobile devices, body-worn cameras, drones and carefully governed AI.

But transforming one of Ireland’s largest and most complex public services is not simply a technology project. It means changing how thousands of Gardaí work — while protecting public trust, individual rights and the judgement of the officer on the ground.

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey goes straight to the source: Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis, strategic lead for organised and serious crime at An Garda Síochána and a Garda officer with more than 30 years’ frontline experience.

Angela explains:
How information-led policing gives Gardaí vital context — including previous incidents, firearms risks and court orders — before they arrive at a call
What happened at Dublin protests when body-worn cameras were introduced, and why behaviour appeared to change almost overnight
Why An Garda Síochána is replacing an interview-recording system that rely on CDs that are no longer being manufactured
How frontline feedback forced the team to rethink and improve a major national investigation system during its rollout
Where drones and AI could help Gardaí work faster and more safely — and where human judgement must remain firmly in control
Why the hardest part of digital transformation is rarely the technology; it is earning the confidence of the people expected to use it

This is a candid and highly practical conversation about modernising a high-stakes public service without losing sight of the Gardaí doing the work — or the people they serve.

🎧Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.
📅The Ireland eGovernment Awards and Leadership Summit take place on 24 September 2026 at O’Reilly Hall, UCD. Find out more at digitalgovawards.com.
#TransformGov #DigitalGovernment #AnGardaSiochana #PublicSectorTransformation #GovTech

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Highlights:
Crisis Management: Maria's resilience was tested through the COVID crisis and the Ukrainian refugee crisis, where she played a pivotal role in managing the response efforts. Tune in to hear how she used "energy buckets" to build team resilience.
Data Security Challenges: Discussing the ongoing data security issues faced by the HSE, Maria underscores the inevitability of cyber threats and the critical role of the CISO.
Cross-Departmental Collaboration: The Ukrainian refugee crisis required seamless collaboration across multiple departments and organisations, including EY and Microsoft. Discover the complexities of aligning diverse teams to support refugees, such as ensuring access to cancer treatment centres.
Managing Expectations: With a large stakeholder group, prioritising needs and managing expectations were crucial. Maria highlights the importance of plain English communication and open conversations to align everyone's efforts.
AI in Healthcare: Maria emphasises that AI must be driven by clinicians to support healthcare effectively. She shares her involvement with Spunout, a charity using AI to support young people's mental health. She also tell us about the innovative Fastrack to IT apprenticeship program.

💡 Key Takeaways:
The human element is the hardest and most important part of major projects, requiring honest communication and alignment.
Data quality and governance are foundational for successful AI initiatives.
The importance of practical education pathways, like tech apprenticeships, to bridge skills gaps and support lifelong learning.

Join us as Maria McCann shares her invaluable experiences and insights into the world of digital transformation in government

Find out more www.digitalgovawards.com
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How do you redesign a public service used by people from almost every country in the world?

In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Paul Rooney and Roshan Wijesinghe from the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration about the Department’s digital contact centre for immigration services.

This is a story about far more than technology.

The Department was dealing with high volumes of applications, fragmented helpdesks, repeated queries, multiple languages, anxious users and staff under pressure. The response was not simply to “build a portal”. It was to redesign the service around users, staff, language, culture, trust and delivery.

The conversation explores:
Why the project was service-design-led, not technology-led
How the Department moved towards a more joined-up applicant view
Why translation is not the same as localisation
How plain English, tone of voice and visuals helped make the service easier to use
How personas helped the team understand both immigration applicants and internal staff
How Microsoft Dynamics, automation and AI-supported tools are helping staff manage information and queries
Why AI is not being used to make immigration decisions
How identity verification helped tackle appointment-booking abuse
Why business-led change management was critical
What other public sector teams can learn from the project

For CIOs, digital leaders, service designers, customer service teams and anyone working on AI or transformation in the public sector, this is a practical look at what digital government really requires: clear purpose, better data, better communication, staff involvement and strong safeguards.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more at www.digitalgovawards.com

Digital government, public sector transformation, Department of Justice, immigration services, AI in government, public sector AI, Microsoft Dynamics, digital contact centre, service design, multilingual services, digital identity, change management, GovTech, Ireland eGovernment Awards, Transform Gov, customer service, public service reform
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What if your next hospital appointment happened from your kitchen table?

In Part 2 of Transform Gov, Professor Derek O'Keeffe explains how Ireland is using digital technology to rethink healthcare delivery — from remote islands to nursing homes, prisons and beyond.

You'll hear how:

*Patients can be monitored safely at home.
*Chronic diseases can be managed before emergencies happen.
*Virtual hospitals are reducing unnecessary admissions.
*AI and robotics could become everyday healthcare tools.

This isn't science fiction.

It's already happening.

Transform Gov is part of the Ireland eGovernment Awards and is brought to you in partnership with Accenture.

Find out more about the Ireland eGovernment Leadership Summit and Awards at:
www.digitalgovawards.com

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:33 Why chronic disease is changing healthcare
04:49 Why hospitals aren't designed for chronic illness
07:24 The idea behind the virtual hospital
09:44 Monitoring patients at home
10:58 Virtual wards explained
15:20 The island healthcare project
17:06 Why islands became the perfect test bed
18:37 A patient, a ferry and lambing season
20:06 Scaling the project across Ireland
21:41 Nursing homes, prisons and remote care
24:23 International interest from Australia
25:21 AI, robotics and the future of healthcare
27:48 Why innovation requires resilience
29:02 Final thoughts
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