Help, however, is at hand. The Citizens Information Board is the national agency which is responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice and advocacy on social services. There are a number of ways to get this information, including a phone service (lo-call 1890 777 121) or by calling in to any of the 100+ Citizen Information Centres dotted around Ireland. But undoubtedly the easiest route to information is through the website which can be found at www. citizensinformation. ie.

The website covers an extensive range of subjects, including employment rights, buying a home, moving abroad, education, and much more. With so much information contained within its pages, it might have become somewhat impenetrable, except that the information on CitizensInformation. ie is divided into 14 categories so that users can readily access the topic relevant to them. Straightforward, accurate, and comprehensive, the information is sourced from a wide variety of service providers and agencies, and each category addresses a series of frequently asked questions on a topic, supported by a wealth of in depth information, informative case studies, supporting documents and downloadable forms.

But haven't we seen all this before?

Well, yes and no. The Citizens Information Board's new website replaces the older Oasis website (which received 19 million pages viewed in 2006), and the Citizens Information Board's on-line database . . . indeed, type www. oasis. gov. ie into your computer and you will be met with a message telling you about the new CitizensInformation site.

"Oasis had been very successful, and we have been very pleased with its effectiveness, " said Catherine Hughes, project manager for CitizensInformation. ie. "But we had reached the stage with the Oasis site whereby there was no real scope for development or enhancement. We were looking to the future, and we didn't really have the opportunity to build on Oasis . . . so we felt that we needed to change things with a new website."

Useful features on CitizensInformation. ie include a "find an address" tool which enables people to contact over 8,000 service providers and government bodies nationwide, as well as a "My Information" facility. Using the My Information feature, users can create their own accounts to store links to information and documents of personal relevance, in addition to setting their own preferences for things such as type size or language. These documents are automatically updated to afford immediate access to new information and initiatives as they come online.

Overall, CitizensInformation. ie contains more than 1,200 individual documents covering topics as diverse as getting a driving licence, health insurance, government in Ireland, taxation, employment rights and social welfare. In addition to comprehensive information on the topics, it also provides direct links to relevant on-line services, with the information on the website having been gathered from a wide range of sources across the public sector, specialist voluntary agencies and, where relevant, from private sector bodies.

"We have added new content features, such as checklists and case studies, " said Hughes.

"But we have also added better support for other languages . . . in addition to Irish and English, we have had documents and information in French and Romanian for several years, and last year we added Polish to the website."

All of this is being done in response to the evolving nature of modern Ireland, and with a close eye on inclusiveness. Indeed, CitizensInformation. ie has been designed to provide ease of access for everyone, and is accessible to people with disabilities (such as those who use assistive technologies to access the internet).

"Over the past five years not only has Ireland's social fabric changed dramatically but so too has the use of technology in our everyday lives, " said Leonie Lunny, CEO of The Citizens Information Board. "Both of these factors have resulted in an increase in service requests and changes in the way we seek information.

www. citizensinformation. ie was developed as a direct result of these factors."

The value of the site can be seen through its usage, which is increasing every month. To illustrate, in January this year 182,649 unique users visited the website. This number increased in February to 208, 073, almost 14% more than the previous month. And there is obviously something there for these visitors, with more users returning more often - overall, 361,291 visits were logged in February, compared with 317,420 in January.

The primary concerns facing citizens in modern Ireland can be witnessed through the most popular categories on CitizensInformation. ie. The most visited sections included social welfare payments, moving to Ireland and employment rights and conditions . . . although birth and children, family and relationships, and renting and buying a home also featured in the top 10.

The overall value of the website is that it provides a point of first contact for a hugely diverse range of topics. For example, "Adult Education" provides an overview of the subject, as well as containing links to a range of education and training options. Also, the "Getting Married" section investigates the different legal ways of marrying, as well as legal requirements for marriage.

"The previous websites were comprehensive, " said Catherine Hughes. "But CitizensInformation. ie contains at least 10% to 15% more information. We also have a new content management system supporting the website, which gives us better control of the quality of information, making sure that it is accurate and up-to-date."