I apologise profusely for my late arrival. I was caught at a meeting that ran on longer than intended.
I am very pleased to introduce the 2010 Revised Estimate for the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The gross provision of more than €517 million, with another €15.7 million capital carryover from 2009, represents an increase of 13% over last year's outturn. This is comprised of a decrease of 3% in gross current expenditure and an increase of 70% in gross capital expenditure. The major increase in capital funding mainly reflects the Government's support for an acceleration in funding for key energy efficiency measures, including the national retrofit programme announced by the Minister for Finance in budget 2010. These measures will boost energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and stimulate the economy in a growing area of innovation that has major economic and employment growth potential. The Vote also includes significant provision for funding in the communications and broadcasting areas, both important sectors in the development of Ireland's digital economy. Overall, the Vote provision supports activities in key areas that will help underpin the delivery of a smart, green economy in Ireland.
Energy, communications and natural resources policies have critical contributions to make to the key challenges of restoring our competitive edge, promoting sustainable economic recovery and employment growth and developing smart innovation. In addition, energy policy has a crucial role in mitigating the effects of climate change. The energy sector is pivotal to national competitiveness and sustainable economic and social renewal. Investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy will drive job creation and assist sustainable economic growth.
A communications infrastructure is equally critical for economic growth and recovery. For these to occur, Ireland requires a world class national broadband infrastructure which will ensure that every part of the country has full access to broadband coverage to attract cutting-edge, knowledge-based industries. While this will be delivered primarily through private investment, the 2010 Vote provision will fund significant investments in our broadband infrastructure, including the national broadband scheme, the pilot roll-out of 100 megabyte connectivity to second level schools and establishment of the exemplar network testbed lab.
Efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services is critically important. My Department prioritises making the best use of resources by focusing on outputs, outcomes and the delivery of value for money. In this regard, I am pleased to present to the select committee the Department's annual output statement, a copy of which each member has already received. Good progress was made on delivering on 2009 target outputs.
Key output and outcome targets to be delivered in 2010 can be found in part 4 of the statement. This output statement is more focused on the important headline outputs rather than on internal processes and activities. In addition, we have set out a brief rationale for how programme outputs contribute to the achievement of key strategies.
I will now take the select committee through some key details of the Vote. Our administrative budget is set at €26.838 million. Subheads A1 to A9 constitute the administrative budget, which provides, among other matters, for the salaries and associated costs for the staff of the Department. It also covers the engagement of consultancy expertise, the ongoing implementation of the Department's IT strategy, staff training and development and value for money and policy initiatives. The increase of 5% in the 2010 administrative budget provision, in comparison with the outturn for 2009, masks the fact that the 2010 provision is 11% below the corresponding 2009 Estimate. The low 2009 outturn reflects the efficiencies being driven by my Department and the focus on achieving value for money.
Since the beginning of 2008 the number of staff employed in my Department has been reduced by 76, or 22%. In fact, the Department has already reached the end-2012 McCarthy report numbers target. This is reflected in a paybill provision that is 9% below the 2009 outturn. Notwithstanding this significant reduction, all areas of the Department have maintained efficient service delivery. Productivity will have to be reinforced in 2010 and the coming years in the light of inevitably constrained resources.
In communications, our budget is set at €67.802 million and includes €14.290 million capital carryover from 2009. A total of almost €68 million is being provided in 2010 for communications and multimedia developments. Availability of broadband services in all areas of the country and a significant enhancement in broadband speeds are major priorities for the Government. Good progress has been made in broadband provision in recent years. Ireland now ranks 11th out of the EU 27 for per capita broadband penetration, fourth out of 27 for mobile only per capita penetration and 14th for fixed broadband penetration.
We had been lagging behind EU and OECD comparator countries in recent years but the roll-out and take-up of mobile broadband has helped to improve our international standing significantly and move us beyond the EU average. There are now more than 1.443 million broadband subscribers in Ireland with the broadband per capita penetration rate at 32.4%. This compares with just 1.2 million subscribers at the end of 2008.
Businesses rate their satisfaction with the speeds they receive from their Internet service providers very highly with three quarters saying they are satisfied. In addition, 84% of businesses state that their company's overall telecommunications costs have either decreased or stayed the same in the past 12 months. Some 68.4% of homes and 72.8% of SMEs are now using higher speed broadband of between 2 and 10 megabytes per second.
More than €46 million is being provided in 2010 for Government investment in broadband infrastructure. Since entering a contract with my Department in December 2008 for the national broadband scheme, 3 has progressed network roll-out of mobile wireless broadband services to residences and businesses and national broadband scheme services are now available in almost 70% of the 1,028 designated electoral divisions to be covered under the scheme. The 2010 Estimate includes in the region of €30 million for completion of the national broadband scheme later this year.
Provision is also made for the implementation of the Kelvin international connectivity project, which will provide direct international broadband connectivity to 13 towns on both sides of the Border. This project, which is almost complete, is a €30 million North-South project under the INTERREG IV cross-Border co-operation programme and is a joint project between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Belfast and my Department. The 2010 Estimate includes funding of €6.2 million for Project Kelvin.
A key area of my broadband policy is to develop the knowledge workers and digital citizens of the future. Schools with necessary broadband connectivity will underpin this aim. Funding is provided in the Vote for a pilot project involving 100 megabytes of broadband connectivity for 78 second level schools. In 2010, the Department will complete the construction of the individual elements to bring the project to fruition and it will be operational for the start of the next school year. It is my objective to make available 100 megabyte broadband connectivity for all second level schools. This will provide the interactive learning environment that will prepare our students for jobs in the knowledge economy.
I am also taking specific actions to directly develop the knowledge economy this year. Following the publication of the Knowledge Society report last July, I have secured funding which will see the launch of the exemplar network testbed lab next month. This facility will provide both companies and research groups with access to world leading technology that has the potential to revolutionise the Internet.
Some €5.194 million is provided in 2010 under subhead B2 towards the operating costs of the national digital research centre, NDRC, to continue its development in the area of translational research. A further €2.360 million under subhead B2 is provided for the work of the Digital Hub Development Agency. The agency continues to attract digital media enterprises and has a current cluster of 98 companies with 664 full-time and 220 part-time employees. Subhead B3 represents my Department's allocation from the Dormant Accounts Fund under the RAPID programme. Some €0.370 million is provided to complete projects that will assist disadvantaged young people to exploit information and communications technologies opportunities. Some €0.450 million is provided in subhead B4 for information society and e-inclusion. This will provide for the successful completion of the BeneflT eInclusion grant scheme and for an analysis of the impact of the scheme to inform future policy. It also provides for the publication of a knowledge society strategy addressing e-participation, e-inclusion, e-health and an update on actions identified in technology actions to support the smart economy.
Subheads C1 to C5 provides €256.23 million in respect of the broadcasting sector in 2010. It is estimated that broadcasting licence fee revenue of €222.13 million under subhead H4 will provide for grant-in-aid of €195 million to RTE under subhead C1. In addition, An Post will receive licence collection funding of €12.452 million under subhead C2 and a contribution of €14.678 million will be made to the broadcasting fund under subhead C4. The latter reflects the increase to 7% of licence fee receipts for this fund.
The provision of €34.05 million under subhead C3 will allow TG4 to maintain its high quality Irish language schedules. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission no longer exist. They have been replaced by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland which is funded by industry levy rather than the Exchequer.
Under energy, the budget of €127.282 million includes €1.431 million of capital carryover from 2009 — a total spend of €127 million in the energy area. Funding of €90 million, including €50 million carbon tax revenues for retrofit measures, has been allocated to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for the further expansion of its domestic and non-domestic energy efficiency schemes. A further €40 million has been allocated by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to improving energy efficiency of social housing across the country.
This unprecedented level of funding will this year alone support energy efficiency improvements in more than 60,000 homes and buildings, support 5,000 jobs and create energy efficiency savings worth a total of €400 million. In tandem with the increased level of activity in existing programmes in 2010, the Department and SEAI are also designing a new retrofit programme. The programme will be the subject of a public consultation but in broad terms, it will bring together the home energy savings scheme and the warmer homes scheme as well as support programmes for businesses and the public sector.
The programme will involve energy supply companies, energy services providers, construction workers, energy auditors and policy makers, working together to deliver energy savings, cost reductions and ultimately smaller carbon footprints for energy customers throughout the country.
This new programme has the potential to be the most innovative, ambitious, energy-efficiency initiative ever introduced in Ireland. It will significantly contribute to meeting the national efficiency targets, including the target of 33% set for the public sector. It will also create significant employment in the energy and construction sectors in support of economic renewal. In 2010, the funding allocated to the retrofit programme will be used as necessary to supplement the home energy saving scheme, the warmer home scheme and business and public sector programmes.
High priority is being given to supporting the development of Ireland's ocean energy potential. Some €7 million is being provided for this area in 2010. Not only will ocean energy contribute to Ireland's renewable energy targets, it has considerable potential for inward investment and enterprise activity in support of economic renewal. Full implementation of the ocean energy programme commenced in 2009. An exploratory foreshore licence was granted to SEAI in September 2009, which has enabled site investigation works to commence at the planned test site location at Annagh Point, County Mayo. Progressing the test site is a key priority for 2010. We hope to further enhance Ireland's energy research capability next year through the expansion of ocean energy research and the development of the newly-established international research centre in Cork.
There is a provision of more than €24 million in 2010 for the natural resources area. Direct expenditure in the offshore exploration area is relatively small but my Department performs an important regulatory function in the area. The Irish offshore, which has recognised potential as a petroleum producing area, is relatively under-explored. The regulatory framework for exploration and production recognises that fact and is designed with the aim of attracting mobile international exploration investment to Ireland. My Department takes a proactive approach to promoting the opportunities for exploration investment in offshore Ireland. Over the past decade there has been an upswing in the number of companies seeking exploration licences and in the number of exploration wells being drilled.
Subhead E2 provides funding of more than €6.7 million in respect of mining services in 2010. That includes some €3.5 million in respect of rehabilitation works at Silvermines, County Tipperary, and almost €1 million for health and safety works in Avoca, County Wicklow.
The provision of €4.285 million under subhead E4 will fund a range of multi-annual initiatives in the geoscience field. Almost €3.5 million of this is earmarked for the Griffith geoscience research awards where projects are reaching their mid-point and, subject to successful review, are due payments this year.
Subhead E5 provides €2.992 million in 2010 for INFOMAR, the successor to the Irish national seabed survey. INFOMAR is designed to map Ireland's shallow inshore waters, thereby completing a process initiated under the Irish national seabed survey, which mapped Ireland's offshore areas. This baseline data is vital for the development of our offshore, including renewable energy projects.
Subhead E6 provides for the payment of grant-in-aid of €4.985 million to Ordnance Survey Ireland, OSI. As the national mapping agency, many aspects of OSI's activities are undertaken in the public interest and the Exchequer subvention is designed to bridge the gap between the level of income from its commercial operations and that of its expenditure. More than 80% of OSI's funding for 2010 is forecast to be commercially generated.
Inland fisheries in subhead F1 provides for the salaries of staff of the central and regional fisheries boards and the Loughs' Agency, and a non-pay provision for their capital and current expenditure. The Loughs Agency is a North-South body and is co-funded 50:50 by my Department and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland.
Provision is also made for the salmon management regime, which meets the costs of the salmon management programme, including the expenses of the National Salmon Commission. Following on from the 2009 budget day announcement of the rationalisation of State agencies, the Government approved proposals for the restructuring of the inland fisheries sector, which included the creation of a single strengthened inland fisheries authority to be known as Inland Fisheries Ireland. The authority will replace the existing central and seven regional fisheries boards. The primary legislation required to deliver the restructuring has been enacted. I have set 1 July as vesting day for Inland Fisheries Ireland upon which the existing central and regional fisheries boards will be dissolved. The salmon hardship scheme and the community support scheme were successfully concluded in 2009 and no 2010 provision is required.
More than €1 million is being provided under subheads G1 and G4 to fund other organisational initiatives. Energy and telecommunications services and infrastructure are key elements of Government economic recovery policy. They are essential to underpin the delivery of a smart, green economy in Ireland. I am pleased that in such difficult times for the public finances I have been able to receive significant Government support for the implementation of this policy. I look forward to the contributions from the committee and to clarifying points as necessary.