Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

---- it is currently €500,000. The Tuam ducting has a sum of €100,000. The North-South telecoms operation is €20,000 and €1.8 million for Eircode.

Deputy Dooley asked about subhead A4 on multimedia developments. The projected change from the 2017 Estimate to the 2018 Estimate is €654,000. The decrease relates to the Digital Hub Development Agency 2018 allocation which reflects the ongoing implementation of the 2015-2019 financial model which is designed to gradually phase out the agency's reliance on Exchequer funding. Funding for operating expenses and capital has decreased in line with the financial model. In plain English, part of the long-term strategy for the digital hub is that over time it would become less reliant on public moneys and be able to generate more income itself. Much of that income is being generated in relation to the development of property on that site which is then let to companies including tech companies. As the rental income from the site increases, the Exchequer contribution towards its running cost diminishes and the figure of €645,000 reflects that.

Those are the two big changes in spending on the A Vote. Deputy Stanley asked about the difference between the spend. There is another slight change in this, namely, €258,000 on administration non-pay aspects. That relates to overall savings on that side. Deputy Stanley also asked about the trading online voucher scheme. Since I was appointed Minister, we have increased the funding available to the trading online voucher scheme year-on-year. On several occasions I have publicly made the local enterprise offices aware that if applications for the trading online vouchers scheme is over-subscribed and the funding is not there to meet it, I will find the funding for it. I do not want funding to be an issue on that. Many colleagues here have actively encouraged companies in their own constituencies to apply for the trading online voucher scheme which is a 50% grant up to €2,500 for people to start trading online or to be able to take online payments if they already have an Internet presence. We have found that those people who have started to trade online are increasing their sales by one fifth, employment by one third, and two thirds of those companies are now trading internationally.

It is not only traditional retail businesses which can benefit from this. I was in Deputy Dooley's county town of Ennis recently and visited Bridget Haren hairdressers, not that I am an expert in visiting hairdressers, where we had an interesting conversation regarding Bridget having availed of the online voucher scheme. They have used it in order to make all their bookings online. Whether it is a wash and blowdry or highlights, the client is allocated whatever period necessary and the staff member to do it. It provides them with a huge degree of flexibility as well as being able to sell the hair products online that they have the rights to stock in their salon. Over the Christmas period, they saw their sales increase dramatically. There are huge opportunities there for businesses which may not traditionally see themselves as having an opportunity to go on the route of trading online. I actively encourage people to avail of the scheme. Up to one third of that grant may also be spent on online marketing. There is no point in having a shop window online unless people can actually see it.

Another interesting thing that we have found from it is that quite a number of people who have availed of the training have found that their existing system meets their needs but they may not have been maximising it. Over 10,000 businesses have received training where about 4,500 have availed of the voucher. There are 1,500 vouchers. Let that not be a limit. I encourage colleagues here to actively encourage businesses in their constituencies to avail of that support.

Deputy James Lawless asked a number of questions. On the legislation he introduced, I have spoken privately to him about it. I also discussed on the floor of the Dáil the technical difficulties with it, although the Deputy gave a different impression on "Morning Ireland" earlier in the week. We are all agreed on the route we need to take. An interdepartmental group which is led by the Taoiseach's Department and comprises representatives of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is due to meet on Friday and this issue will form part of its discussion on electoral reform. We are and were conscious of the issue in advance of the Channel 4 documentary and what was reported in The Guardianthis week. The interdepartmental group was established on foot of the Deputy's legislation and it is our intention to progress swiftly in that regard.

On the Deputy's question of whether there is a lack of resources on the cyber security side, all of the resources that have been sought have been provided. I had a discussion recently with the head of our cyber security division about whether resources were an issue. The main issue is the provision of accommodation to meet staffing levels which have increased dramatically from a low base. The intention is to recruit additional staff this year. The challenge, therefore, is not resources, but, rather, finding staff with the requisite training. Traditionally, we have seconded staff from the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána and this practice is continuing. We liaise with our colleagues across Europe in that regard. A recruitment process will commence soon to ramp up capacity in this area.