Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Public Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) provide onsite connectivity for community use at publicly accessible premises, such as community centres and sports clubs. They are located in rural and isolated areas including on a number of off-shore islands and support remote working, digital skills training and a range of community initiatives.

In the coming months, in consultation with Public BCP stakeholders, my officials will finalise a development strategy for the Public BCP Network. This strategy will set out a number of ambitions and opportunities and will guide decisions on future supports, partnerships and the scope to improve and broaden services. Among the items for consideration will be the issue of inviting additional premises that have access to high-speed broadband into the Public BCP network.

The current focus of the Public BCP project is to complete the roll-out of the 300 sites which are already within the project plan. When completed, the Public BCP network will have a presence in every county in the State and in many of our most rural and isolated communities, including many off-shore islands. As the site connection rate grows, my Department will work with local authorities and the committees that manage the Public BCPs to improve services and drive demand for use of the sites.

There are a number of pilot programmes currently underway, or recently completed, that explore the potential for Public BCPs to provide additional public benefit. Among these are programmes related to remote working, arts and culture, eHealth and education and training. A number of these programmes have been provided with additional support to ensure they continue past the pilot stage, including coding for primary school children, painting classes and eHealth pods offering remote access to medical appointments.