Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That has always been a challenge in rural Ireland. The most recent meeting of the mobile phone and broadband task force took place on 16 May. It was the first meeting under a new structure, wherein both State and industry task force members attend a single session of the task force. The agenda for the meeting included the standard updates by task force members on the status of their actions under the current work programme and a revised work programme for 2024 onwards. Officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications also presented on the gigabit infrastructure Act.

As many actions under the current work programme have been significantly progressed, the work programme for the task force has been revised and its priorities now fall under the following four key headings: progressing the delivery of quality, secure and resilient digital connectivity; facilitating the implementation of the gigabit infrastructure Act; improving consumer information and experience; and supporting efficiencies across local authorities for planning and licensing. The work programme will be published shortly and will continue to be revised as necessary to ensure that obstacles to the efficient roll-out of telecoms infrastructure, particularly in rural Ireland, are resolved quickly.

In 2023, the task force held two meetings and an annual stakeholder forum. The forum presented an opportunity for State and industry stakeholders to come together and take part in panel discussions and presentations on the positive influence of the task force's work. I am confident that we can continue to build on the momentum established by the first iteration of the task force, and the model of bringing all the stakeholders together in the task force continues to function well.

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