Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will touch on a few issues. Reference is made in the subhead briefing on A3 to the national broadband scheme. Is that the old scheme? What remains of that scheme? We wait with great interest to see how the procurement process for the new national broadband plan evolves. We can be certain of a few aspects, but the point to which the national scheme will match what the private sector delivers to homes in terms of high-speed broadband is not clear, given evolving technologies and so on. It is easy to identify those rural and peripheral areas that the private sector will not touch in even the next 20 years. I fear that there may be a blurring of lines, in that the private sector might invest in an area in the next three or four years if conditions suit but, in the meantime, we will forge ahead and spend public money to deliver the scheme. We should identify the most peripheral areas, for example, our islands. If we are serious about delivering high-speed broadband to every household by 2020, it is a safe assumption that the private sector will not go near the islands.

As such, would it not make sense to start there first, move in and meet the private sector somewhere in the middle? I understand that the tender process is ongoing and that issues might arise but the matter should still be addressed.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, has announced the digital strategy for schools and I presume the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will also have an input into that very welcome initiative. Hopefully, we will see up to €50 million of grant aid being taken up and disbursed among all schools nationally. Some schools will have a better ability to do it than others, which is a real issue and something that must be examined.

A very specific area mentioned within the document, at subhead A3, is funding set aside for the Galway-Mayo ducting. I am to correction but I think this refers to a new high-speed transatlantic cable from Killala to Dublin and, perhaps, further afield. My information is that it is being held up in the Department for longer than should be the case. I am very keen for the matter to progress to the signing of contracts by local authorities, the Department and the private company delivering the project. It is a project of significant national importance and it must be expedited.

I refer to the online trading scheme under A5. I presume that is the online voucher or assistance the Department will provide to companies to upgrade their information systems. We saw a very good example of how that has worked in conjunction with a community in Skibbereen. The Minister was present at the launch. The community, with some assistance from the Department, has plans to be the first 1 GB town at least in Munster and, I think, excluding a pilot project Cavan, in the country. It is a welcome initiative and one that can act as a driver for other communities with an example of what can be done.

I raise a minor issue on subhead C3 in respect of SEAI grants, which are very welcome. Is the Minister is satisfied with the ratio in the budget of administrative to grant funding? There is a budget on the administration side of €7 million for pay and non-pay with grants in the region of €50 million. While it is a really a matter for the SEAI, does the Department have a scrutiny role in respect of the contractors recommended by the SEAI? In a very small minority of cases, they are, frankly, not up to the job notwithstanding which they continue to be recommended by the SEAI. Has the Department engaged in any consultation with SEAI on sanctioning those contractors who have taken public money and failed to deliver a service to the client?

A discussion on the following has been awaited for some time. Does the Minister have an update on the future of the Whitegate oil refinery? It is a very significant issue for the country and, in particular, those in the east Cork area. Is a decision imminent on Government funding for Whitegate?