Public Service Minister Peter Kilfoyle said the government was aiming to provide "user-friendly services available when where people want them".

Mr Kilfoyle said: "Closer collaboration with the IT industry will help bring the benefits of the IT revolution to everybody."

The fruits of the private-public dialogue will form part of the upcoming bill on better government.

The Internet, as well as the humble telephone, will play a key part in the government's plans to develop such projects as a National Grid for Learning, University for Business, an NHS Superhighway and a tele-medicine service.

Also under consideration is a one-stop Internet service called Direct Access Government.

Mr Kilfoyle said the government was anxious to provide services in an "interactive" way in an attempt to ensure public services were focused on the citizen and not the government.

The minister admitted that although he believed electronic government "was an idea whose time had come" he did say there are those members of the public who fear it, particularly the elderly.

But he said the government would work to allay those fears and all services would also be provided in more traditional forms.

On the issue of privacy Mr Kilfoyle said there are "people who will resent all forms of gathering electronic data" but he said the system would be secure and their worries were "unfounded".

The government has already run on pilot scheme on the Internet enabling people to register as self-employed online.