Results 2,721-2,740 of 2,990 for speaker:Ossian Smyth

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I agree with the point the Deputy is making. The State could take the approach of just negotiating these details on a friendly basis with the companies concerned without putting things on a contractual basis. However, we have taken the option to push for a contractual basis in order to have a legal agreement in place rather than relying on agreements made on the basis of good faith. As I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I cannot say what the review will bring, but I can say what it is meant to determine. Under the terms of reference, the review is to establish if the NCSC is fit for purpose, if it is lacking anything, if it needs any additional skills or staff and how it compares with other similar organisations across Europe and the world. That is the purpose of the review. The review is due in quarter 2...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputies. The budget for the NCSC was trebled last year. The review was initiated more than six months ago and so it is not that we are reacting to this incident suddenly. I was asked about co-operation with FDI companies and international law enforcement and intelligence agencies. That is critical and it goes on all of the time. We have been interacting with those agencies...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Digital Hubs (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. I know he has previously asked this question about the digital hub so it is obviously a topic of interest to him. Following a strategic review, which concluded that the digital hub is no longer required to sustain the continued growth of Dublin's digital enterprise sector, the Government decided on 27 April that the Digital Hub Development Agency, DHDA, should be...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Digital Hubs (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The DHDA did great work over that time. It regenerated the area and brought businesses back into it. However, the view at this stage is that its purpose has been served and it has delivered what it was asked to do. Dublin city is filled with enterprises and start-ups but what is lacking is housing. Providing housing for 500 families is a really critical thing to do. It is not just about...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: There are 38,897 premises in the intervention area in County Galway that will receive access to high-speed broadband under the national broadband plan, NBP. I am advised that, as of 27 May, 14,914, or 38%, of these have been surveyed by National Broadband Ireland, NBI. Surveying is the first step towards delivering the new fibre network and informs design solutions for the provision of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: That is very kind of the Deputy. She has it right. I am not sure I understand her reference to Kafka but the answer is that these 5,340 premises will be connected later in the year. It is a multistage process. There is a step where premises are surveyed, a step where they are moved past and a step where they are connected. This is happening in counties all around in Ireland in parallel....

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I can come back to the Deputy with a breakdown of how many of these premises are in Galway city and the Ballinasloe area or with any further information that would be useful to her. My office is always open for the Deputy to contact me. One thing I did not get to say is that broadband connection points have been rolled out. The idea is to set up areas in villages or towns that have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputy McAuliffe for this timely question. The threat of attack by cyber criminals is increasing across the world.  Ireland is recognised by the global cybersecurity index as one of the countries that are ranked highly in terms of our commitment to cybersecurity. Addressing the growing threat requires a combination of responses, including actions by the State, by...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The current position is that when a consumer asks National Broadband Ireland for information the company will provide it up to a certain point. For the coming two years, consumers can find out whether their home is in a given district and when that district is due to be done. Beyond that, the company has not provided data. One of the reasons is that the times are being shortened. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy makes a good point. The whole experience, from the point of view of the public, of finding out when a household's broadband will be connected should be clear and transparent and similar to the experience of a consumer dealing with a commercial provider. I absolutely accept that. The Deputy makes the point that he believes the contract with National Broadband Ireland should...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank the Deputy. The NCSC budget allocation for 2021 is €6.9 million, of which the provisional allocation for salaries is €1.8 million. The Government has trebled the capital and programme funding for the NCSC from €1.7 million in 2020 to €5.1 million in 2021. The funding and resourcing of the NCSC have increased substantially over the past five years. Staff...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The Deputy started by asking about the position of director. It is a new position. We sought a new director for the NCSC at the end of last year. We advertised a salary of €106,000 to €127,000 and we identified a candidate but that candidate decided a couple of months later not to proceed. We are going to recruit again. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, and I will suggest a new...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cybersecurity Policy (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The role of the NCSC is to advise critical infrastructure providers on how to protect themselves. It carries out research and training and when an incident occurs, it provides the incident response, which is exactly what it did for the HSE. It does so under the auspices or framework of the NIS directive. That is the overarching, regulatory framework. We are producing new cybercrime...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: Since the pandemic, the national broadband programme and its importance have been underlined for everybody. When the programme was first introduced, there were debates on whether it represented value for money, but at this stage it is well understood by everybody that broadband is essential to the running of commerce and government, and even social networks. The original objective was to...

Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I thank Deputies for an engaging discussion on the issue of insurance reform. It is clear we all agree on the need for ongoing work to improve both the affordability and availability of all types of insurance. That is the Government's policy intention and that is why we published the action plan for insurance reform in December to drive this agenda forward. While the Government appreciates...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Railway Stations (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I am here on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to answer the Senator's questions on transport, particularly in the context of the Oranmore and Ceannt stations in Galway. The Government recognises the importance of expanding sustainable mobility in the Galway area. I am glad to say that this recognition has been backed up by funding to ensure that this...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Railway Stations (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: I take the Senator's point about the importance of timelines. I will speak to my ministerial colleague about the matter. The national development plan is being reviewed at the moment so the various projects are being examined and appraised. I can see how the population of Oranmore contributes to its deserving nature and there are problems with transport. I am not from Galway but when I...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the NBP Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the National Broadband Plan. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by end-2022,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Environmental Schemes (1 Jun 2021)

Ossian Smyth: The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, launched last September, sets out a clear roadmap for the introduction of a Deposit and Return Scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles and aluminium cans in the third quarter of 2022. This process began with the launch of a public consultation on the design of a DRS for Ireland in October last year.  It was encouraging to see the level...