Commenting after the inaugural meeting, Minister Naughten said “There is huge value in bringing together in one place the many different parts of Government that impact upon the roll out of vitally important telecoms infrastructure, particularly in rural Ireland. There is also a clear benefit in making sure there is tight co-operation between stakeholders, including industry, to ensure the delivery of many of the actions, especially around the role of the Broadband Officers and enabling the National Broadband Plan’’. He added ‘‘I am pleased to see progress being made and welcome the fact that one operator, Eir, has already launched ‘WiFi calling’ on its network. I hope to see other operators introduce this and other network feature and functionality enhancements as soon as possible.’’

Minister Humphreys added “Improving rural connectivity is an important pillar of the Action Plan for Rural Development and the establishment of this Implementation Group is a vital step in our work to drive improvements in broadband infrastructure, particularly in rural areas. The Group has a clear mandate, not only to deliver upon the 40 recommendations already identified in the Taskforce’s final report, but to also identify emerging issues that may impact upon the timely rollout of mobile phone and broadband infrastructure. To this end, we will convene an annual forum later in the year that will provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to make their views known.”

Actions outlined in the report focus on optimising network performance, improving consistency in relation to planning procedures, enhancing access to infrastructure, engaging with stakeholders on issues impacting on the rollout of telecommunications infrastructure, and equipping consumers to make informed decisions on available products and services.

The Taskforce Implementation Group brings together all key stakeholders identified in the Taskforce report with responsibility for delivery of actions. This will ensure that strong momentum and timely delivery is maintained over the coming months, and will enable early identification and proactive management of any emerging challenges to the delivery of actions.

Quarterly progress reports will be produced on the status of actions outlined in the Taskforce report, and a comprehensive annual review of progress will be undertaken at the end of 2017. 

About the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce
The Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce (the ‘Taskforce’) was established in July 2016, arising from a commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government, to deliver on the actions set out in the National Broadband Plan. Ministers Denis Naughten T.D. and Heather Humphreys T.D. co-chair the Taskforce.

The objective of the Taskforce was to consult and engage with telecoms industry representatives in order to identify solutions which can be implemented in the short, medium and long term to alleviate telecommunications deficits, particularly in rural Ireland, prior to full build and rollout of the network planned under the National Broadband Plan State intervention.

The Taskforce report, published in December 2016, is available at:
http://www.ahrrga.gov.ie/app/uploads/2017/02/taskforce-report-final-pdf.pdf

About the National Broadband Plan

The National Broadband Plan is a Government policy initiative which aims to deliver high speed broadband to every citizen and business in Ireland. The National Broadband Plan’s ambition is to achieve 100% coverage across Ireland within 3–5 years of commencement of large scale rollout. This will be achieved through a combination of accelerated commercial investment by telecoms operators, and State intervention to deliver access to high speed broadband to those parts of the country where there is no certainty that the commercial sector will invest.

Further information on the National Broadband Plan is available at:
http://www.dccae.gov.ie/communications/Lists/Publications%20Documents/Taskforce%20Report.pdf