Ms Amy Ball:

Yes. As Ms Smith and I mentioned in our opening statement, under the public spending code we cannot put a quantifiable benefit within the CBA in the absence of empirical evidence. As such, we commissioned research, examined case studies, conducted interviews, and consulted with enterprise bodies to assess the opportunities for benefits beyond the scope of the quantitative benefits. They cross a range of areas and sectors, so I will just go through them at a high level. Members are free to interrupt if they need clarification on anything.

In terms of education, there is a significant benefit attached to all schools having reliable access to technology. Some of the school staff we spoke to mentioned that most of their courses were coming through an online format and children were now expected to complete their homework online at home. One of the problems they are having in rural areas is that they do not have consistent resilient broadband available to them at all times.

Regarding health, doctors would have the ability to monitor patients in remote areas and people would not have to travel to GPs or hospitals on every occasion. This helps ensure older people can live at home for longer periods. On social inclusion, interacting online with community forums, or being able to communicate with family members who are not local or may even be abroad via Skype or FaceTime, has fantastic benefits for mental health. Keeping in contact with people solidifies that social inclusion. We are seeing huge movements there in some proof of concepts, which I have no doubt will become more and more prevalent over the next 25 years and will have a major impact on peoples' mental health and well-being.

This is relevant for tourism, given that many of our prime tourist spots, such as the Wild Atlantic Way, are in remote areas of the country. It is very important that businesses, start-up enterprises, hotels, and tourism bodies in those areas have access to broadband to maintain an online presence, promote the areas and activities that are available to tourists, and develop small businesses in each of those areas. I spend quite a lot of time in County Mayo, and the local surf company says its broadband is always falling out and it has missed out on mass bookings because of that. It would definitely value always-on broadband.

The environment is a very topical area, both for Ireland generally and globally. We have looked at the reduced emissions related to reduced commuting times. I spend a lot of time in Silicon Valley and I am amazed at the prevalence of driverless cars. They are definitely coming our way, if not in the next year or two but certainly over the next five to 25 years. We see always-on broadband as being a key enabler of online access for cars, smart motoring and smart trafficking. It will encourage the use of electric vehicles and, therefore, reduced emissions.

I refer to the smart home experience. I do not know if any member has Alexa - we do not - but the rise of the Internet of things is something we often talk about. In the future, all of our home appliances will be connected to the Internet. I have seen a fridge that will automate one's order if the milk is running out. Not only that, but if we think about the broader context of smart metering or smart home monitoring for businesses and homes alike, broadband is a key enabler for those and they are just not possible in its absence. Yet technology is moving at pace, and the pace of growth of data is incredible. In a recent study of ours, which has not yet been published, we see an increase in data at 25% year on year over the next five years for Europe alone. With that data comes a need for better transmission networks, faster speeds, and greater resiliency across networks.