Dáil debates

Wednesday, 15 July 2020

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

National Broadband Plan

11:25 am

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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20. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of progress of the national broadband plan; the amount spent to date; the number of homes and businesses that have been and are yet to be connected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16068/20]

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the issue of the national broadband plan with the Minister but I am conscious that he has already handled two questions on this issue. I had thought they might be grouped. For the purpose of making this exchange a little bit useful, perhaps the Minister could focus his response on the plan as it is envisaged to roll out, the weakness of the plan from the Minister's perspective, and what he will bring to the plan in his position of Minister to improve on it and to bring about prioritisation of its rapid delivery.

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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After years of working in this area, it is my assessment that we often focus on the technology, the wires, the hardware and the way one gets digital information moved from one place to the other. I believe that the key issue for success is in the use and actual behavioural side of it and in what ways the technology is used. The actual soft application side can be more important than the aspect we all focus on, which is the technology side. One must have the technology to be able to start using it but if we can take that as a given, I believe that the real key issue with the national broadband plan will be what type of societal changes, benefits and usage it will encourage. An example related to the current situation in Covid-19 is that in my Department, there are very few workers coming in.

Largely, the Civil Service is working remotely to show a lead in protecting public health and safety. There is a question of how remote working might work best. In the future, it will be flexible in a variety of ways, people might come into work for three or four days a week rather than five, but we might also look at other mechanisms. For instance we can take high-speed broadband connections, particularly in a village or town, and create community enterprise centres where people would work remotely but not at home. There would be an opportunity for social interaction, community enterprise and some of the benefits of being in a shared office where people spark off each other and have ideas. Creating community enterprise hubs around that use of the broadband connection is one example of how we can use the system and services we have. Similarly, what can we learn from the last six months for e-learning and life-long learning, and how we use these video conferencing and other systems? That side of usage is critical for success as much as the technology itself.

11:35 am

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate the response and understand the perspective. Very significant societal changes will come with the full implementation of this plan. During the lockdown, as RTÉ reported, one of the digital hubs in my area did not have high-speed broadband connection. The building existed, with the tables, chairs and offices, but they did not have the broadband infrastructure to make it work. It is crucial that the system is in place to deliver it and that the broadband plan is delivered as quickly and to as high a standard as possible. What is the Minster's view of the timeframe for the roll-out and the model of delivery? The comparison has often been drawn with the ESB. Does the Minister support the model that is there? Will the project proceed as proposed or will there be a review?

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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On the last point, I do not believe the contractual arrangements are agreed about the exact route network options that will be used. In opposition, and now in government, I have argued there is much strategic sense in using the ESB network in deploying some of this architecture, and that there is real benefit. There is an electricity wire going to every house in the country. That might provide some synergy in developing broadband.

To give a specific example of how the roll-out to work, the first phase of about 300 broadband connection points was to be the first roll-out. Many were in rural areas, perhaps connecting to a local school, GAA club or community centre. People in rural constituencies in particular, might ask how we can benefit from the technology starting with those 300 connection points which we expect to see rolled out by the end of the year.

Photo of Darren O'RourkeDarren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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In my experience information and communication on this are really important. People are really frustrated about access to information. People do a tremendous job in trying to get a forensic knowledge of broadband in their local areas. They are able to say what lines are going where and they have engaged with the different utility providers. The experience of dealing with the utility providers can be very frustrating. Meath County Council has a broadband officer, Cormac McCann. He is a fantastic resource to public representatives in the area, he has a forensic knowledge of what is happening on a county-wide basis. I do not know the basis by which he is employed in the council but I commend the approach. Perhaps the Minister might roll the approach out more widely. Information is key on the broadband roll-out and people really appreciate being well informed.

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Often during Minister's questions, a Minister will respond by saying they will revert to the Deputy with further information. In this case, I will throw it back the other way and ask the Deputy if he will provide me with much more details about that officer in Meath County Council. If it is working well, it is something we could examine and support and ensure that every other council does the same. This is exactly the sort of learning by doing, learning by best practice and swapping stories that we need to do. If the Deputy sent me a specific note on that, I would welcome it.