Mr. Colm McColgan:

Thank you, Chairman, for inviting us to the meeting. I echo what our chairperson has said.

I will focus on high speed broadband and the challenges it presents for rural areas, particularly for rural areas in border regions which tend to be far away from their respective capitals.

My first slide shows figures that highlight the importance of information technology. We have a lot of SMEs that use information technology and there is evidence to show they grow twice as fast as ones that do not.

Another aspect is the fear that information technology destroys jobs. It does but there is evidence that for every job it destroys two and a half new jobs are created. Therefore, information technology cannot be ignored and we must get on board with it.

We are delighted that the joint committee specifically mentions communications infrastructure as part of its remit on its website. We feel that the sector is one of the most important assets for an area. One of the main things we want to do today is show the committee what we have learned is happening outside of Ireland, outside the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe, particularly in the Nordic countries which are very far thinking in their approach to this challenge.

As Mr. Diver has said, ERNACT has been around for 20 years. In that period we have engaged with about 130 regions. Today we engage with about 50 regions on a whole range of digital development issues. Of course that work embraces infrastructure but it also deals with services and how they can be used for the good of society, business and education.

The next slide gives a flavour of the type of projects we are working on. The top project relates to broadband and refers to ten regions in Europe that have substantial rural areas. They are very concerned that the business case for the private sector does not stack up and, therefore, one must put in public money if one wants to install very good broadband in rural areas. Of course this is a time when national governments are strapped for cash which is the worst situation one can meet. Other projects deal with things like using the Internet to deliver public services and the way different regions can use it, for example, to promote tourism by developing apps. Those are some of the projects that ERNACT is currently involved with and the slides give a flavour of the type of work that we do.

A lot of public authorities around Europe are very interested in the concept of open data and how one can better use social media and social media channels to deliver public services. We are working on such a project.

Mr. Diver has mentioned that we have started to look to the other side of the Atlantic. That move was prompted by the fact that the European Union has, for the first time, compiled a strategy for its side of the Atlantic. The European Union specifically referenced the Canadian and American side of things so we travelled there to see if there was a basis for co-operation. We were delighted to learn that they were very open to collaboration and that we have a lot of things, including challenges, in common.

I have given an introduction to ERNACT and shall now talk about broadband in the Border area. Up until 2007-2008, which was the end of the last INTERREG programme, there was a big emphasis on telecoms. During the period between 2000 and 2007 a lot of good work was done on the north-west corridor, particularly between Derry and Letterkenny. In 2010 there were no cross-Border fibre links in the area but that has changed through a combination of good support from two councils - Derry City Council and Donegal County Council - and the fact that there was, at the time, more funding from national governments, with good support being provided by Dublin and Belfast. At the end of that period there were four cross-Border fibre links and Project Kelvin is one that all the committee Members probably know about. It was well supported by both Governments and other links exist as well. If support had not been provided through cross-Border programmes there would be no links in the region.

The programmes run in five to seven-year cycles. Another project has just finished but it had very little provision for broadband. A new programme is being discussed and is under public consultation but it contains no broadband provision.