Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will report on the progress of the mobile phone and broadband task force, particularly in the context of the recommendations or actions for which his Department is responsible; if the task force will produce an annual report for its first full year in operation; if a work plan for 2018 has been prepared and agreed with stakeholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1787/18]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This question relates to the mobile phone and broadband task force. How has it progressed? How many meetings has it had and what conclusions has it reached? Will it produce an annual report? To what degree have the stakeholders been fully acquainted with the urgent necessity to deal with the deficiency in broadband and mobile telephony service provision in rural areas?

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The mobile phone and broadband task force was established in July 2016 to examine solutions to broadband and mobile phone coverage deficits across the country, as well as to identify tangible actions which could be taken to improve the quality of these services.

The task force published its report in December 2016. It made a series of recommendations, backed up by 40 agreed actions, to address a wide range of issues impacting on broadband and mobile phone services in areas such as planning, access to infrastructure, network improvement and consumer matters.

Along with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, I co-chair an implementation group which oversees the implementation of all actions in the task force report. Quarterly reports on progress made in implementing the actions are published on my Department's website.

Some of the key measures progressed by my Department include co-funding the employment of a broadband officer in each local authority to facilitate the roll-out of telecoms infrastructure; working closely with mobile operators and local authorities to identify specific mobile phone black spot areas and identify solutions to improve coverage in those areas.

A national stakeholder forum was convened on 6 October 2017 in Athlone, bringing together key stakeholders to highlight any barriers being experienced in the implementation of actions and to suggest new recommendations for the task force implementation group to accelerate the provision of improved services to consumers.

Officials from my Department and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment are finalising a report of the work of the implementation group in 2017. I anticipate it will be published shortly. A 2018 work programme for the implementation group has also been agreed and an outline of this programme will be included in the 2017 annual report.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. What precisely will be done to address the deficiencies in both the quality and speed of broadband and mobile telephony services? What will the stakeholders do to address the major deficiencies relating to these services, which are hugely important to the business, education and health sectors?

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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This was an important part of the discussions around the programme for Government. Several areas have been identified and are being worked on by the task force, including the removal of development contributions for telecommunications infrastructure. The latter will enable increased placement of that vital infrastructure. Exempted development regulations with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government will allow industry to accelerate the roll-out of 4G services while ensuring regulations remain valid and stay abreast of network development consumer demand. Online systems for planning applications will streamline the application process. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, is working on ducting installation work to fill the gap in respect of the motorway network and to facilitate telecoms operators. TII will review the cost of access for telecoms operators to its ducts. A composite national coverage map is being prepared by ComReg to help consumers and businesses choose the network provider which best meets their needs where they work and live. ComReg will work on the level of signal which can be expected from different handsets in different areas. Much work has been done by local authority broadband officers to ascertain and provide a much greater degree of consistency and engagement with telecoms operators in assisting in clearing obstacles to the roll-out of infrastructure. This important work is being carried out by the task force.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. Will he give further details on the improvements to mobile phone coverage in the short term? In other jurisdictions across Europe, it has been possible to provide a satisfactory service which we do not seem to be able to provide in this country. There appears to be little we can do over time. Will the Minister of State give an indication as to the deadlines for improvements in broadband services?

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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A black spot pilot project has been undertaken by the Department in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment, mobile telephony operators and several local authorities. This is a significant step in identifying problem areas and any infrastructure which could potentially be used to improve mobile coverage. New technologies are being explored such as, for example, purpose-built lamp-posts, which could be used in many rural towns and villages. Several of these have been erected in various local authority areas. These could greatly improve signal strength. Over several years, signal strength in some areas has actually declined. This ongoing work is important in improving mobile phone coverage.

Much important work is being done by this task force, which I co-chair. It involves engagement with all stakeholders, including TII, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, ComReg, local authorities, the County and City Management Association and the telecoms and broadband sectors. The recommendations will be published and will be acted upon by the Government.