Straitéis Dhigiteach Fhine Gall 2020 - 2023

Fingal Digital Strategy 2020-2023

Fingal Digital Strategy 2020-2023 Irish Language Version

The internet and digital technologies are transforming the way people live, work and communicate today. We  are  in  the  era  now  known  as  the  digital  age  or  information  age. Information is readily available and  accessible  through  digital  technologies  and  people  born  into  this  era  are  described  as  digital  natives  –  someone  who  has  used   the internet and mobile phones since they were a child. Technologies are constantly  evolving and  developing.  We  can  see  this  especially  in  recent  years  with  advances  in  the internet of things (IOT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning – for example, electric cars, driverless vehicles, contactless  payments,  smart  home  appliances.  As  a result, consumer preferences have changed – people want to  access more services online  and at a time and place convenient for them.

We are using online services for shopping, banking, paying bills, information and entertainment because they tend to be more convenient and cheaper to use. Research  carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Deloitte found that three million people in Ireland, equivalent to 90% of the population, now have access to a smartphone - higher than the European average. The survey revealed that mobile  phone  usage  among  older  people  grew by 6% to 54% from 2016 to 2017, with eight in every ten of those carrying a smartphone. It also found that 83% of Irish people have access to at least one IoT device against  a European average of 73%.

As a result of the technological advances in society Local Government need to evolve and adapt to ensure our citizens, business and communities remain well served.

The importance of the internet to our economy is becoming more and more evident each year.  In  2016,  Indecon  Economic  Consultants  were  commissioned  by  The  Department  of Communications, Climate Action and Environment to carry out an Assessment of the macro-economic impact of the internet and digital on the Irish economy.

This report found that:

•       The digital economy represents 6% (€12.3bn) of Ireland’s GDP.

•       It is growing fast, at approximately 40% since 2012.

•       The digital economy is expected to expand to about €21.4 billion or 7.9% of GDP by 2020.

•       Currently almost 116,000 direct and indirect jobs are supported, of which 68,000 are directly linked to digital.

•       The largest single contributor to the internet part of the economy is online consumer spending.

•       Irish consumers spend around €850,000 per hour online, 24 hours a day, which represents more than a 20% increase since 2012.

•       Irish consumers expect this to grow by 25% in the next 3 – 5 years.

•       88% of Irish consumers research products online before buying, compared to 79% across the EU.

•       Approximately one in seven Irish people (13.5% of the adult population) make a supplementary income on the internet.

In recent years cities around the world are now moving towards the  concept of a  ‘Smart  City’, using technology to improve the way citizens interact with the city. Smart Cities and regions use data and technology to create efficiencies, improve sustainability, create  economic development, and enhance quality  of  life  factors  for  people.  Smart  Cities  is  one of the fastest growth  markets  globally,  with  Allied  Market  Research  reporting  that  the global Smart Cities  market  was  valued  at  $517,629  million  in  2017  and  is  projected to reach $2,402,123 million by 2025, registering a compound annual growth rate of 21.28% from 2018 to 2025.

Smart Dublin, an initiative  of  the  four  Dublin  Local  Authorities,  aims  to  position  Dublin as a world leader in the development of new  urban solutions,  using open  data, and  with  the city region as a test bed. As a founding member of the Smart Dublin initiative in 2016, Fingal County Council has actively sought to capitalise on the abundance of opportunities presented by the global Smart Cities movement for both internal digital transformation and  to stimulate economic vibrancy in the region.

Fingal has a population of 296,214, making it the third largest, fastest growing, and youngest population of any county in Ireland. This represents a growth of close to 80% in comparison with 30% nationally since 1996. Since the 2011 census the population of Fingal has increased by 8% and by 2021 the population of this vibrant and diverse county is expected to be over 330,000. The population is ethnically and culturally diverse; 23%  of  the  population  were born outside of Ireland. Balbriggan, located in the north of the county, is Ireland’s youngest, fastest growing and most diverse town in Ireland and over half of the population of Mulhuddart in Dublin 15 are under the age of 25.

Fingal’s rapidly growing, diverse, young population presents a myriad of opportunities and challenges for the county. By developing a digital strategy for Fingal, we hope to deliver better services to our growing population and support communities, businesses and citizens to leverage the full potential of broadband and digital technologies.

Fingal has major economic assets, including Dublin Airport, proximity to Dublin City and the Dublin Port Tunnel, road and rail infrastructure and a prime location on the Dublin-Belfast Economic corridor. Dublin Airport provides a significant economic hub for the county. Fingal has close links with Third Level Higher Education Institutes. Technological University Dublin

- Ireland’s first Technological University - has a campus based in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Fingal is also home to the Dublin Enterprise Zone (DEZ). The DEZ comprises of 1,571 hectares of  land  zoned  for  office,  R&D,  High  Technology  Manufacturing,  Industrial  and  General Enterprise and Employment, and is located just north of the N3 and south of the N2. The DEZ is one of the largest enterprise zones in Ireland and adds €14.4 billion to the national economic output while supporting 34,600 jobs. Fingal County Council has built a strong and dynamic  ICT cluster in the Blanchardstown area with multi-national companies  such  as  Synopsys, IBM, Amazon, PayPal and Symantec.

Fingal’s Digital Strategy will leverage the supports of the world-leading science, technology, innovation and research ecosystem to support strategy goals and  objectives  and  grow Digital Fingal.

Fingal is made up of a mix of rural, urban and suburban regions. The OECD has acknowledged the importance of broadband and digital infrastructure to both rural and urban communities. The term “digital divide” is commonly used to refer to different levels of access and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and, more specifically, to the gaps in access and use of internet based digital services. Broadband access provides the physical means for using these services, with availability gaps continuing to be a challenge in many rural and remote locations. In recent years, the increased role broadband connectivity plays  in economic and social interaction has made this aspect of the digital divide a key matter for public policy.31 The National Broadband Plan (NBP) (2015) aims to deliver reliable high-speed broadband throughout Ireland through a combination of State and commercial investment. Fingal County Council is committed to facilitating the rollout of the NBP and recognises the vital role broadband will play in Fingal’s urban and rural economic and social development.

To help our local economy and communities to take full advantage of the opportunities that digital presents, local digital strategies are of vital importance.

The European Commission has been a driver of digital for many years. In 2015 the Commission developed Europe’s 2020 Strategy which set out objectives for the growth of the European Union (EU) by 2020. This strategy was built around seven pillars, the Digital Agenda formed one of these key growth pillars. The Digital Agenda’s main objective was to develop a digital single market in order to generate smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in Europe.

The core focus of the European Commission’s Digital Single Market Strategy is for European citizens to benefit from developments in digital connectivity, digital skills, digital public services, and investment in research, development and innovation in ICT. The EU Commission is encouraging and supporting member states to develop their digital infrastructure and services through a series of funding opportunities. The WiFi4EU initiative was launched in  May 2018 with a fund of €120 million and aims to promote access to wireless connectivity and usage in public places. The EU Commission has also proposed to invest a further €9.2 billion in the first ever Digital Europe programme. Fingal County Council aims to optimise its digital infrastructure and services through EU Commission funding supports and other support and development initiatives.

As part of the Digital Single Market strategy, the European Commission annually publishes  the European Digital Progress Report (EDPR), which monitors progress in digital policies in  the Member States.

Digital Dimension                                Description

The 2018 report showed that Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands have the most advanced digital economies in the EU followed by Luxembourg, Ireland, the UK, Belgium and Estonia on the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

With regard to telecoms infrastructure, Fingal is better served than its more rural neighbouring counties, but it still experiences a rural-urban divide for high speed broadband services which has left rural communities disadvantaged for their living and working requirements. Latest figures available from the DCCAE (Q2-2019 - Table 1) show just under 9% of premises have no access to reliable high-speed broadband services.

Engagement with local citizens and business have revealed that pockets or blackspots of poor connectivity exist within the blue area of the National Broadband Plan map. A  consultation  on conclusion of the National Broadband Plan mapping exercise for the 'Intervention Area' has recently been undertaken (Q3-2019) with relevant agencies and the telecoms industry to update the National Broadband Plan intervention area.

In order to create an inclusive Digital Strategy and implementation plan for Fingal, a comprehensive consultation and engagement process was undertaken. This process involved a number of measures, including analysis of relevant policy and documents, formation of an oversight group, development of a public issues paper, design thinking workshops with community and business stakeholders and the development of a consultation survey.

The formation of the Digital Fingal Oversight Group was a fundamental first step in developing a digital strategy for Fingal. The oversight group was set up to oversee the development of a digital strategy and implementation plan. This group is comprised  of  senior representatives from Fingal County Council. These representatives are crucial to the success of the Strategy and implementation plan and represent the following council departments – Economic Development, Community, Libraries, Finance, Planning, Operations, Environment, Architects, Corporate Affairs and Governance, Data Protection and Communications. Participants are listed in Appendix A.

The role of the oversight group was to firstly discuss the potential a digital strategy could have on their departments, highlight existing digital initiatives in their respective departments and discover potential digital projects that might be included in the strategy. Through this engagement process the group identified the need for further engagement with both internal and external digital champions to drive the digital agenda. This engagement process led to a robust consultation with  both  internal and external digital champions. The figure below shows the breakdown of the stakeholder engagement process.

The Digital Strategy Public Issues Paper received a total of 26 submissions with 62 observations. These observations led to over 100 ideas that could potentially be developed to support Fingal’s Digital Strategy.

The Digital Fingal team examined each and every consultation submission and categorised suggestions and ideas into common themes. By doing this they were able to analyse the frequency of the most common suggestions. The graph below shows submission projects and ideas grouped together by common themes.