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Broadband Infrastructure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 April 2022

Tuesday, 5 April 2022

Questions (105)

Ruairí Ó Murchú

Question:

105. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development her Department’s engagements regarding the report by the European Parliament in relation to regional connectivity and smart villages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18042/22]

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Written answers

While my Department has not been directly engaged with the drafting of the report referred to, my officials have been active in this space for several years.

The Smart Villages concept is primarily about rural communities making best use of both technology and social innovation to respond to ongoing and emerging challenges.

In a recent briefing issued by the Commission, one of the barriers to the expansion of the Smart Village model identified across the EU was the lack of sufficient connectivity. The need for reliable, high-speed broadband has been recognised by the government and, accordingly, the National Broadband Plan (NBP) has commenced.

Notwithstanding delivery of the NBP, which is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, my department has, through a number of schemes and initiatives, supported the development of Smart Communities, Villages, Towns and Cities for several years.

For example, the Broadband Connection Point (BCP) initiative is, by its very nature, a Smart Community programme of significant scale. When complete, 300 publicly accessible and broadband-enabled community hubs will make onsite connectivity available to enable a range of initiatives in areas such as the delivery of digital skills training and remote work and study.

Since early 2020, officials at my department have been investigating opportunities to further develop the smart offering at BCPs and have, to date, rolled out eHealth, arts and culture, digital skills training (including for older people) and remote work / study pilot programmes. These pilots will be expanded and scaled up over 2022 and into 2023.

The Smart Villages concept underlines the need for a greater focus on empowering communities at local level if rural areas are to thrive in the coming decades.

The LEADER Programme is one of the key interventions of Our Rural Future, the Government’s policy for rural development. Given its reach and history, the LEADER programme can play an essential part in the Smart Villages concept in terms of mobilising and empowering local communities, in developing their capacity to design and implement community-led initiatives and promoting innovation and experimentation.

Preparations for the design and delivery of the next LEADER programme from 2023-2027 are well underway and support for the development of Smart Village Strategies will be strongly encouraged as part of that programme.

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