Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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1759. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to media reports outlining an agreement reached by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers, if towns and large urban areas in County Louth are set to benefit from a European wide project to deliver free Wi-Fi access; and the towns and cities that have been identified for free Wi-Fi access. [27247/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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1760. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount of funding to be delivered by the EU further to media reports outlining an agreement reached by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers to deliver a European wide project to deliver free Wi-Fi access; and the funding allocated to each of the local authorities. [27248/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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1761. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the criteria that has been applied to identify towns and cities that will benefit further to media reports outlining an agreement reached by the European Parliament, the EU Commission and the EU Council of Ministers to deliver a European wide project to deliver free wifi access; the way in which this may impact on the national broadband plan. [27249/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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1762. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to media reports outlining an agreement reached by the European Parliament, the EU Commission and the EU Council of Ministers to deliver a European wide project to deliver free wifi access, the date on which this agreement was reached; the timeframe for the associated funding to be allocated; and the timeframe for the project to deliver this wifi access. [27250/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1759 to 1762, inclusive.

The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 as regards the promotion of Internet connectivity in local communities - COM(2016)589 was agreed at political level on 29 May 2017. Known as "WIFI4EU", the proposal announced by the European Commission in September 2016, is designed to provide a limited number of public Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces such as parks, squares, libraries, and some public buildings.

Importantly, it is proposed that hotspots will rest on existing backhaul provided by public entities defined as municipalities, grouping of municipalities, and other local public authorities and institutions, libraries and hospitals. While these hotspots will provide additional connectivity, they are not designed to fill in broadband coverage gaps, or replace mobile phone services. They will, however, offer additional flexibility for internet connectivity in certain public areas for citizens. By stimulating integration with existing public services, the initiative will assist in promoting public interest in high capacity internet services and will contribute to the take-up of broadband services and also to the development of public infrastructure and digital inclusion. 

The total amount available for the project across all EU Member States will amount to €120 million under the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding mechanism, which will be administered in a series of tranches over a period of three years. The total amount should result in approximately 6,000 – 8,000 local communities across the EU receiving hotspots at an approximate cost of €20,000 per hotspot. The first call for proposals amounting to €20million is likely to be launched in late 2017, although no date is yet confirmed.

Details of the exact administrative process for applicants, are yet to be decided at technical level, and details of arrangements will follow in due course from the European Commission.  It is however known that the hotspots will be paid for through a voucher scheme. The European Commission is working closely with EU Member States including Ireland to determine the logistics of the eventual process. It is not known how many hotspots Ireland will receive overall. However, the principle of geographical balance across Member States will apply so that Ireland should receive a proportionate share. 

The potential applicants in Ireland’s case will likely be local authorities, with any local authority eligible to apply as long as their applications fulfil the conditions set by the European Commission. 

Officials in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs are actively engaging with the European Commission on this proposal and are monitoring developments closely.