Dáil debates

Wednesday, 27 May 2020

Covid-19 (Communications, Climate Action and Environment): Statements

 

Photo of Jennifer WhitmoreJennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I note that the Minister, in his statement, acknowledges the great work of many of our public services and utilities. I echo that acknowledgement. In particular I acknowledge the work being done by An Post. From those who engage with communities and help those who are isolating, to the management team that has come up with innovative supports for bookshops and small enterprises, its staff have really done incredible work since Covid began. In our post-Covid economy, our SMEs will have to pivot their business models towards online shopping. An Post will play a large role in this regard ensuring that, for those going online, it is easier, faster and financially viable to shop in an Irish online shop rather than in one overseas.

I will focus on two communications issues. The first is the broadband connection points programme currently being rolled out across the country. The second is the important issue of access to Internet training and supports for our older population. In November last year, the Government announced the deployment of 300 broadband connection points across the country. This programme was intended to be a stopgap for communities with the worst broadband coverage. It was a very welcome announcement for those in our rural communities. These broadband connection points were heralded as high-speed Internet hubs that would enable rural remote working. The locations selected by the Department to host the broadband connection points were primarily community centres, GAA clubs and schools. In principle, this is a worthwhile programme. Remote access to the Internet is vital for any rural village or town, even more so now that, post Covid, our focus will be on enabling people to work remotely from home or from within their locality.

I absolutely believe that our schools and community facilities should have access to high-speed Internet. I have worked with a number of primary schools that have had difficulty with their Internet connections to such an extent that the Internet in one school with which I worked failed on its technology day. All the children had to put away their devices and the school could not go through with it. There are problems with Internet connections in our schools.

We need rural co-working hubs that offer people the opportunity to work remotely and we need our schools connected and enabled to teach in a progressively technological manner. I cannot see, however, how providing high-speed public access broadband to schools and sport centres under this programme will meet the needs of either those facilities or the local community. I certainly cannot see how many of them will meet the needs of remote workers. For example, how does the Minister envisage a school providing an opportunity for remote working for local people? Would a person just drive up, sit in his or her car and access the Internet from there? Would schools have to open in the evening to facilitate remote access to the Internet? There are significant child protection issues associated with using schools as remote working hubs. Conflating the two needs, providing broadband to schools and providing for remote working opportunities, will mean that neither need will be sufficiently met.

What selection criteria were used in selecting the facilities to host broadband connection points? Was consultation carried out in the selection of those premises? Do these clubs, community centres and schools actually want to provide this service to the broader community? I have seen it reported that the Government has allocated €120 million next year to deliver the rural broadband scheme, much of which is to be spent in installing these broadband connection points.

That is a significant amount of money. If the Government is going to spend such money on providing rural public access to the Internet in order to enable remote working, it should first prioritise premises that are suitable for that use. For example, are there empty Government buildings, such as HSE offices, that could be reconfigured to provide dedicated co-working spaces with high-speed Internet access, meeting rooms, hot desks and television and video conferencing? These are the kinds of facilities to which rural communities should have access. Rural Ireland requires a broadband solution that meets its needs. I urge the Minister not to short-change people in those areas by providing solutions that do not stack up and which promise remote working facilities but do not deliver. I ask him to look again at the locations that have been selected and consider expanding the number in light of the much heavier demand for authentic and professional rural remote working facilities in our post-Covid world.

I will now move on to digital literacy. It has become obvious in recent months that broadband is about more than just communication. It is also about connection, whether that be connecting with each other, our local communities, the country or the world at large. However, not all of us are connecting, and this is particularly the case for older people. It is not that they cannot or will not connect online, but that nobody is helping them to do it. There are some startling statistics on digital literacy in Ireland. According to the 2018 EUROSTAT figures, over half of Irish people aged between 65 and 74 have never used the Internet. Only 3% of those over the age of 75 have used it. When we combine these statistics, we see that more than 70% of the total population aged over 65 have never been online.

Our recent experience with Covid shows us that it is more important now than ever that our older population should be able to connect to friends, family and businesses online. Unfortunately, this is not happening. According to Age Action, the key issue around technology is that it has been designed, rolled out and funded to exclude a large group of people in society, whose members now have limited access to social, educational, financial and commercial opportunities when compared with any other sector of society. We cannot underestimate the impact that digital literacy has on a person. Being able to navigate online increases a person's access to services and information and means that older people can stay independent for longer. People who have access to broadband save more money, continue to learn and teach new skills, and keep up with the news and cultural events.

Crucially, older people with digital literacy skills benefit from increased participation in the development of national policy. This is a key point which shows that digital literacy is good for democracy. A lack of digital literacy in older people results in a reduced ability to participate in public policy development and consultation. Age Action notified me that of eight open consultations on nationwide public policy documents in November 2019, only one offered public consultation workshops offline. On 15 May, there were two public consultations open, both of which are online. In real terms, this means that approximately 300,000 people aged over 65 cannot easily contribute to the policy-making processes that affect all our lives. It is clear that digital literacy is more important now than ever as we learn to migrate online and stay connected. Older people are losing out significantly more than any other cohort in this regard.

Despite the importance of digital literacy, the successful digital skills for citizens grant scheme, run by the Minister's Department, is currently halted and under review, with apparently no plan to continue the training. The funding stopped mid-programme when Covid hit, which means that many of the participants have been left without access to this very successful support and those who give the training have been left in limbo with their funding ceased. Will the Minister examine how this training can continue to function on an online basis and will he consider reinstating funding for this very important programme? Does he have any other plans to focus on and encourage more online learning for the older members of our communities?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.