Mr. William Parnell:

The Deputy raised quite a broad range of issues. While I appreciate they are all important to rural Ireland, many of them fall outside of the remit of my Department. Perhaps some of the issues might be best answered by the relevant Departments.

It is important the issue of mobile phone coverage is raised. While we are aware of the feeling about broadband provision, mobile phone coverage is also important and relevant. Sometimes it can be lost in the discussion that takes place around broadband. Mobile phone coverage is part of the work in which the Department is engaged. Poor mobile phone coverage not only affects rural areas. Certain urban areas can have patchy coverage too. There are a variety of reasons why this could be. Handsets are not just phones anymore but cameras and mini-computers and there are many different functions happening in a phone which can affect the signal. Different handsets have different qualities in terms of reception. While we are all insulating our houses to make them warmer and to cut down on carbon emissions, the insulation material, particularly aluminium-clad board, can also impact on mobile phone signal.

The mobile phone task force made several recommendations which are being worked through. ComReg is doing some work around customer information, particularly concerning different handsets. It is looking at mapping the future needs of mobile phone and broadband services. The Department is working with some local authorities to run pilot schemes to deal with black spots. One of the key actions is looking at better use of State assets to provide infrastructure which will help boost signals.

Flooding goes under the remit of the Office of Public Works, OPW. I am not in a position to comment on its budget.

The Deputy referred to pilot schemes for dealing with dementia. One of the projects the Department is working on is to develop a national policy on social enterprise. Social enterprise often can be to the fore and proactive in looking at and addressing these social issues. The Deputy gave an example of a possible pilot where there might be a housing cluster. In the past few weeks we visited a housing cluster in Mayo which is a social enterprise and where some of the residents have dementia.