James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the way many local authorities have appointed dedicated broadband roll-out co-ordinators as required by her Department's task force on broadband installation; the details of the relevant officers for each local authority, with contact details in each case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13684/17]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My question relates to the announcement prior to Christmas by the Minister's Department and that of the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, of a range of measures, including a broadband and mobile phone task force. One of the measures was the appointment of dedicated personnel in each local authority to assist in the roll-out of the mobile and broadband task force. I ask for an update and a list of the personnel identified in each local authority in order that we might begin to contact them.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The mobile phone and broadband task force identified the importance of each local authority assigning an officer with responsibility for broadband and mobile services in its respective administrative area to liaise with operators on coverage and the roll-out of telecommunications infrastructure. My Department has provided funding for each local authority to support the appointment of an officer with these responsibilities. To date, 29 of the 31 local authorities have appointed a broadband officer. The remaining two local authorities are recruiting and expected to appoint a broadband officer shortly. The manner in which broadband officers are recruited and appointed is a matter for each local authority. Telecommunications providers have widely welcomed the assignment of a single point of contact in every local authority to deal with telecoms infrastructure issues. I have a list of the relevant broadband officers and contact details which I can provide for the Deputy.

The appointment of broadband officers is just one of 40 actions contained in the report of the mobile phone and broadband task force.

The Minister, Deputy Naughten, and I have established an implementation group, which we co-chair, to drive the delivery of the actions in the report. Progress reports from the implementation group will be published on a quarterly basis, and the first report is due shortly.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I am curious as to which of the two are as láthair if 29 of the 31 are in place. Which two local authorities do not have them? This is of interest. The Minister mentioned that she has the list and I would be obliged if she would furnish it to me. I am particularly interested in the names, contact details and the local authority in each case. I welcome the fact 29 have been appointed and perhaps the Minister will forward the list to me after the debate. I am sure colleagues on all sides would avail of it also.

I agree that this step is needed. We have identified that much of the difficulty in broadband roll-out has been the lack of consistency across local authority areas. County council A is looking for development levies and implementing development plans in a particular way, county council B is doing it another way and county council C is doing it a different way. All of these counties intersect at a particular junction, so a broadband operator or mobile phone operator is trying to put in masts and telecoms infrastructure with three different codes pertaining to just one small area. We all know where county boundaries and constituencies intertwine it is very difficult. It is very much needed and I welcome the progress. I would like to get a copy of the list afterwards. Perhaps the Minister will clarify which two are not in place just yet.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I have provided funding to all local authorities to co-finance an officer with responsibility for broadband in each local authority area. Twenty-nine of the 31 local authorities have appointed broadband officers. We understand that the remaining two are South Dublin County Council and Wicklow County Council, and they are in the process of appointing officers. The broadband officers work closely with the Department on an ongoing basis to identify and address barriers to the national broadband plan roll-out. Progress reports on the implementation of actions in the task force report will be published on a quarterly basis, and the first quarterly report is due to be submitted to the Cabinet committee on regional and rural affairs on 9 May.

We all realise how critical broadband is to rural communities. The Minister, Deputy Naughten, has responsibility for the procurement process. It is complex. I want to ensure that when the contract is signed, there will be no barriers at local level which would delay the roll-out. Sometimes, as the Deputy said, in local authorities there are different sections which could be working in isolation. I want them to work together. I also want the broadband officers to work together. There are two regional groups. The broadband officers meet regularly and this is facilitated by the Department. It is an opportunity for them to discuss various issues and do so in a way that has uniformity.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the clarification. I appreciate that the Department has funded the 31 officers. The real point of appointing these people is so they can begin to address the idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies in local authorities and work with the operators. It makes a lot of sense. Since they are in place, what progress have we made on the waivers that were to be introduced in respect of development contributions and planning applications? What progress have we made on consistency in development plans? Where do we stand with the online system for planning applications for broadband infrastructure, which was to be introduced as part of the task force once the local authority personnel were in place? What progress has been made on all of the other associated actions the local authority personnel were due to manage at local authority level once they were in place?

I note the task force mentioned a 90-day reporting schedule to the Cabinet, whereby every 90 days the task force will report on its actions. According to my calculations it was established before Christmas and we are 90 days beyond that, if not more. I presume it has already reported once to Cabinet. The Minister might update us on what it said and when it is due to report again.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The mobile broadband task force has outlined a number of issues which need to be addressed at local level, and we have raised these matters regarding levies and planning fees with the local authorities. We are trying to achieve uniformity throughout the country because some counties were doing things differently. We have been able to work with local authorities. The job of the broadband officers will be to work with the various sections in the councils, whether planning, roads, IT or water, to ensure any potential barriers are identified and issues are resolved so that when the national broadband plan is being rolled out there will be no delays. They will also work with local communities, giving them information, providing them with various opportunities to use broadband in hubs and teaching them about the benefits of broadband. There is no point in having broadband if people do not use it. This is also very important, particularly in terms of creating awareness in communities and in the context of businesses which may not have an online presence. They will work with them also.

We have received a report and it will report. We report at the Cabinet subcommittee regularly on the progress being made.