Just to comment on the actual reporting of this story – why does the headline refer to Fine Gael when foreign based web hosting is a common trait among most of the political parties?

The greens are telling porkie-pies. They use Ez Publish, and I’ve hosted several ez publish websites on Irish providers.

Do the Greens really think they will need a website at all after the next election? Delusional to the last. Hope it stays fine for them.

It does not surprise me that the main political parties would go outside Ireland for their web services. As usual they are full of talk, but don’t put their own principles into action. Fine Gael might as well have printed their campaign posters in Miami and shipped them over.

Another element of the websites that interests me is the use of the Irish Language, an easy way to put and Irish stamp on the website (way off the point at this stage but I’ll go on anyway). And since all the major political parties have signed up in principle to the language strategy it is interesting to see what effort the political parties have made to use to language on their websites.

Fine Gael: none

Fianna Fáil: When you click the Gaeilge button you are led to an inferior site. There is about 500 words on who Fianna Fáil is and the rest is in English with the menu in Irish.

Green Party: When you click the Gaeilge button you enter a time portal back to 2007. There is info on all the TD’s at the time in Irish (info on Dan Boyle TD) and the language policy is extensive and in Irish. Small amount of info about the party in Irish but if you dig any deeper it’s all in English.

Labour: The Labour Parties website relies upon Google Translate for its Irish version which translate the whole site into very very very (unreadable) bad Irish. Some individuals’ homepages do have Irish on them (especially if they are representing Gaeltacht areas).

Sinn Féin: When you click on the Gaeilge button you get all the menus and headings in Irish and a few lines about the party, everything else is filled in as Béarla.

The Communist Party of Ireland: Impressive! Completely bi-lingual from the start. No need to go searching for a Gaeilge button. It’s all there.

The Socialist Party, The Workers Party, People Before Profit, United Left Alliance: None.

Why has nobody mentioned the obvious?
The standard of hosting in Ireland is about as good as the standard of our broadband infrastructure compared to other countries.
If I was hosting a high traffic website that I wanted to have a good chance of 100% uptime and security including easy backup, I’d use Rackspace in Texas or Tagadab in England not one of the semi-professional services in Ireland.
This is a non story!

I posted about this a few months ago: http://blacknig.ht/10d

@brianhonan – thanks for the link and the comment.
@David – Political parties don’t have to host their websites in Ireland. But they do have to make sure that when they are selecting Data Processors (for that is what hosts are) that will be processing sensitive personal data (i.ei information about political opinions) that they do so with a firm eye on the legal obligations that are owed by a Data Controller (for that is what the Party would be), which include ensuring that the governance and management of their hosting is in compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts. There are various mechanisms to do this. Hosting your data within the EU is one option, US Safe Harbor is another. I’ve covered this in more detail here: http://tinyurl.com/33zkkvx

There is a big difference between compliance and “wearing the green jersey”.
It is a question for the parties if they consider the brand impact of using non-Irish companies to provide services to them is outweighed by any financial savings that might arise.

@David, yes organisations like Fine Gael have to comply with the Data Protection Act and under the act they are classified as Data Controllers. Any third parties that a Data Controller engages to process information on their behalf are classified under the act as Data Processors and they are legally obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act also. This does not mean the Data Processor has to be Irish , but it does mean that they must be bound by the provisions of the DPA by either being located within the EU or EEA regions, be part of the US Safe Harbor program or that the contract between the Data Controller and the Data Processor stipulates the DPA provisions the processor must follow.

This is why you will find the likes of Amazon, Microsoft etc. offering European datacentres to their clients.

The Data Protection Commissioner’s websites provides details of the requirements when transferring data abroad at http://www.dataprotection.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/responsibilities/3ma.htm&CatID=56&m=y

So again, the issue is not about where you are hosting your site but rather if that site gathers personal information about individuals then you are legally obliged to ensure you comply with the Data Protection Act.

@David

The issue is not about the hosting of the sites but the collection on personal data on these sites that could be in breach of the Data Protection Act. Companies collecting data from individuals on their websites need to ensure they comply with the Data Protection Act and subsequently need to ensure that any third party providers they use also compy. In general hosting companies outside the jurisdiction of Ireland and the EU do not have to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Daragh O’Brien does an excellent blog post on this particular issue with the Fine Gael website on his blog at http://obriend.info/2011/01/05/setting-tone-from-the-top/

Fine Gael appears to have handed total control of their web presence to Election Mall. Ravi Singh is likely using the tools he is familiar with and has used before which explains the US hosting and possibly the use of a .COM instead of a .IE. More on that from Maman Poulet.

Fine Gael’s Digital Team also recently offered to manage email, website and social media on behalf of all its election candidates. So the next time you read a Tweet from a candidate remember it may be actually them at all.

So are Fine Gael listening to the voters? Are they conversing with us? No. But they’ve paid someone to do it.

Hosting companies don’t have to comply with Data Protection Act – but they do have to comply with Client Data Protection. Fine Gael et al have to comply with the Data Protection Act, therefore they have to keep their site secure. If I was cynical, I’d argue that this isn’t much more than scaremongering as protectionism.

Companies like Microsoft and Dell and Intel host all over the world, so does Google, yet they also have to comply with Irish, EU, German and UK data protection acts.

And while I’m proud to be Irish (and I host in Ireland and I employ Irish technologists and I encourage Irish Technology Innovation) – lets not get ahead of ourselves and pretend that Ireland is leading the world (the USA even) in terms of Data Protection, Security and Standards. Because we’re not. We’re following them pretty well.

David – I already replied to your comments about data processors etc., You don’t know what you are talking about. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree, but I’ve actually dealt with this and the Data Protection Commissioner about this and their answer was very very clear. If, as a company, you host or are involved in ANY way with the transmission / storage of personal data that may be collected by a data controller then you need to be registered as a data processor. Brian Honan has also addressed this in his comments which you seem to be ignoring as well.

Gavan, how I wish I could say the same. 99% uptime is not good enough for some websites, I’ve yet to come across an Irish host where I’ve got 100%. Do you use an independent monitoring service?
As regards restoration from backups, Ireland is a joke

@Kevin

I dont do any hosting or database design or development anymore and haven’t worked in this area for a long time. Ultimately we processed very little in the way of personal data and in all cases the client is the data controller and each client had their own relationship with the Data Commissioner. It’s their data, we built the systems to the best of ability to be secure against any data attacks – which is all we can do. Data in our databases has and was never jeopardised.

I have read the Data Protection Commissioners page and it doesn’t say, anywhere (and its written in plain English) that the political parties have done anything wrong soever. It doesn’t say they must use “Safe Harbor” it says they must ensure their hosting company must use “adequate measures” – its there in black and white.

If someone wants to show me where I’m wrong, I’m happy to be corrected. It doesn’t affect me in any way – I’m not a hosting company or a data controller or processor.

Whats wrong with having SEO in my description exactly?

@Gavan – you should see the uptimte (or rather downtime) on Register365′s old Hosting365 servers – its about 57% on 2 of the sites we’re monitoring.

For the record, 90% of my own hosting is in Ireland and with most of the hosting companies and I have to say, outside of the ones I mention above, its pretty fantastic.

That’s why I’m keen to see Irish companies compete with intnernational ones. I believe in paying for quality, reliability and security but having a more open market should encourage that.

Dissappointed by FG and lack of security – I don’t know if the site was hacked because of a design/development flaw or the hosting environment but I would money on the development.

Their site has been defaced: http://blacknig.ht/111

@Michele – but who is to say that a US host is in anyway less capable than an Irish host?

Michele – the Data Protection Commissioner requires Irish data handlers to register with them. Do they forbid/restrict using non-Irish data handlers/processors?

I did – it says that the hosting company should have an adquate level of security. Some countries have been approved – and the US Safe Harbour arrangement has also been approved. It doesn’t mean you have to use an approved third country or arrangement.

Quote: “A best practice approach would be for a data controller planning an international data transfer to consider first whether the third country provides an adequate level of protection and to satisfy himself or herself that the exported data will be safeguarded in that country. In the case of data transfers to the US, the controller exporter may want to encourage the importer to subscribe to the Safe Harbor principles.”

Why do Irish political parties *have to* host in Ireland? I don’t get it. The services sector in Ireland is way over-priced, what is the point of being a free-trade country in an open trading bloc with the only “healthy” sector being the globalisation supported export sector?

Does that meant that everyone has to buy Microsoft – that you can’t use PC’s not made in Ireland?

The more we go for protection of the Irish market, the higher prices Irish business will have to pay while having to compete with companies in the UK, Germany and USA. Whats the point of that?

I’m sorry, but this story was nonsense in 2010 and it still is.

Would it not be better to lead by example in building this economy from the inside? It is outrageous that this site was commissioned in the USA given the current state of our economy. Maybe the irony of using such a vehicle commissioned overseas to garner votes at home is lost on the political classes. I don’t think there are that many votes in Miami, as of this morning, a lifelong Fine Gael voter will be going elsewhere. I am sickened to my stomach.

@Aaron : Again, I don’t have any issues with the Irish language not being used. I know I’m in for a head kicking here but many people would obviously have the same opinion even if they keep it to themselves. I’m willing to state something publicaly because it seems obvious: Not that many Irish people read/talk/communicate in Irish. Whether or not we should is another argument, but I can’t see any great reason as to why the political parties should.

At this point you’re probably thinking I should be A) shot or at least B) stripped of my Irish citizenship and be booted unceremoniously into the English Channel (not the Irish Sea, because that would be deeply ironic). But we live in a democracy, and even if my views are those of a minority, I’m still entitled to view them. And if I was in the minority, then these sites would probably be in Irish first and foremost but I suspect that the majority of Irish people (51%+) couldn’t care. Harch but true.

I leave you with one thing: Don’t shoot the messenger – you may not like what I say but it’s not my fault.

Key Message: Irish exports in 2010 reached the highest level ever at €161 billion. This is especially encouraging, coming as it does, in the wake of figures released yesterday showing that Ireland continues to attract significant inward investment. These statistics, combined with other economic indicators such as car sales etc. provide hard proof that the real economy –the economy based on the business environment – is forging ahead.
Export Figures:
•Irish exports in 2010 reached the highest level ever at €161 billion.
•This represents a growth of 6.7% on the previous year.
•Export to the emerging markets of Brazil,Russia, India and China (BRIC) increased by 12%.
•The key drivers were the agri-food sectors and the life sciences sectors which includes products such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. grew by 12%.
•Irish agri-food sector grew by 8% and is expected to grown by as much in 2011.
•The life sciences sector which grew by 12%.
•While the world trade growth is expected to slow this year, the IEA is still projecting that total Irish exports, due to a weaker Euro against sterling and the dollar, will increase by 7.2% in 2011.
•This will push Ireland’s total exports to a new high of €172.6 billion.

Other important economic indicators:

FDI:
•We are number one in the world for jobs created by FDI.
•Figures release by the IDA showed that almost 11,000 new jobs were created in 2010, more than double the number created in 2009

Car Sales:
•The car scrappage scheme introduced in January has provided a major boost to the motor industry, far exceeding expectations.
•New car sales have jumped by 55% in 2010 to 88, 373 according to SIMI.
•The increase in sales last year delivered an extra €109m in Government revenue and an increase of 3,500 in the number employed in our industry.

Employment:
•While unemployment is still too high, the situation is stabilising.
•The Live Register fell for the third month in a row in November, the first time since early 2004.

Competitiveness:
•Irish competitiveness improved significantly in 2010.
•Business costs including energy, private rents, office rents, services, construction and labour have all become more competitive.
•Both gas and electricity prices are now below the Euro average, and the cost of living has also fallen.
•Office rents have decreased sharply – typically up to 40%, whilst the EU has forecast that from 2008 to 2012, Ireland’s labour costs will have improved 13% relative to the EU (27) average. ( IDA end of year statement)

Open for Business:
•Ireland is ranked 9th out of 183 countries in the world by the World Bank in terms of ease of doing business.
•The 2008-2012 Business Environment Ranking of the Economist Intelligence Unit placed Ireland 11th globally out of 82 countries.
•The2010 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Ireland;
• 4th for the availability of skilled labour
•6th for labour productivity

Maufacturing:
•The recovery in Irish manufacturing has finally started to translate into jobs.
•The NCB Purchasing Manufacturing Index (PMI), which measures the health of the manufacturing sector, saw an increase in jobs in December, for the first time since July.

Credit:
•The Head of CRO John Trethowan said that the situation in relation to credit was “continually improving”.
•He also pointed out that that the perception that the banks are not lending to the SME sector was based on experiences form six to nine months ago. ( Nov 18th 2010).

Economic Outlook
•For the first time since late 2007, both Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Product have increased in the same quarter – marking an important return to growth the economy. (Dec 16th, National Accounts)