Inclusive of amendments of 30 September 2008, of 15 May 2009
Rationale for intervention
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Rationale for interventionIn most rural areas tourism is an integral component of wider rural enterprise and both should be developed in an integrated manner whenever possible. Rural tourism is also very closely correlated with agricultural activity. Lack of regional balance in tourist activity is a challenge to the future viability of rural tourism. The focus of this measure must also extend wider to embrace other aspects of rural recreation and demonstrate synergy with the Countryside Recreation Strategy. Due to the cross-cutting nature of this measure, actions at the territorial level must demonstrate an overall coherence with relevant actions concerning agri-tourism, rural enterprise and conservation of natural heritage and culture. Environmental awareness and protection must be an intrinsic feature of this measure. Objective of the measure To maximise the sustainable, regionally balanced, tourism potential of all rural areas through provision of necessary infrastructure and development of the countryside as a recreational resource for all. Content
Target group All rural dwellers Target area All rural areas Risk of overlap with First Pillar - EAGF A member of a Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation receiving support for investment actions, environmental actions or training under the Scheme of Aid for Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations is precluded from receiving support for similar actions under this measure. Quantified targets for EU common indicators45
Output
Result
Impact
Employment creation
Additional performance indicator Number of overseas holiday makers whose holiday is predominantly in the countryside Baseline: 1.2 million Target: 1.8 million Additional performance indicator Number of overseas visitors involved in cycling, hiking and walking Baseline: 0.3 million Target: 0.6 million Basic Services for the Economy and Rural Population Legal basis Article 52 (b) (i) of Reg. (EC) N 1698/2005 Point 5.3.3.2.1 of Annex II of regulation (EC) N 1974/2006
Quality of life issues including the availability of services and living conditions significantly influence the extent to which people are willing to return or re-locate to rural areas to live and work. While key service provision is properly addressed through integrated actions by mainstream government services, certain quality of life initiatives specifically targeted towards rural communities can be addressed under this measure. Such initiatives must demonstrate complementarity with, and avoid duplication of, broader service provision as articulated in the specific chapter on the rural economy in the National Development Plan 2007–2013. In this context lack of adequate cultural and leisure facilities in some rural communities is a significant impediment to their further development. Objective of the measure To identify and provide appropriate cultural and leisure facilities to local communities, not otherwise available to them. Content While the needs of more remote rural populations and peri-urban areas may differ markedly, initiatives will broadly address the provision of:
All assessments and actions should be carried out in consultation and agreement with the appropriate local authorities. Any equipment, activities or infrastructure provided must be available and accessible to all age and social groups in the community concerned. Mainstream activities of sports organisations and bodies are excluded from support under this measure. Type of costs covered: Capital costs only such as provision of infrastructure, equipment and some specialist support and development in relation to acquisition of specialised skills sets Transitional arrangements: Do not arise as actions under this measure do not replace, but complement, existing measures delivered by nationally funded local authorities Target group All rural community groups The relevant Local Authority in a LAG area may apply for funding, at the rate of aid applied to community groups, to carry out projects under this measure. Such applications will only be considered eligible where the proposal involves a community group that has agreed to contribute at least 5% of the total project costs.
All rural areas Quantified targets for EU common Indicators46
Output
Result
Increase in Internet penetration in rural areas is not supported under this measure. Impact
Numbers benefiting from facilities by category (new indicator)
Basic Services for the Economy and Rural Population The Rural Broadband Reach Scheme (RBR) Measure code: 321 Article (and paragraph) which covers the measure: Articles 52(b)(i) and 56 of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005. Point 5.3.3.2.1 of Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006 Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005. Rationale for intervention: The European Economic Recovery Package allocated funds for rural areas to ensure the provision of broadband services. The Scheme will target individual premises in rural areas which, for a variety of reasons, are unable to receive a broadband service from any of the service providers already operating in the area. The intervention proposed would compensate service providers that extended their networks to cover the “unreachable” premise. Objectives of the measure: The objective of the measure is to secure access to broadband for certain target premises in rural Ireland to which affordable broadband is not currently available and is unlikely to be available in the near future. Scope: As part of the planning and design of the National Broadband Scheme47 (NBS), extensive and detailed mapping exercises of the areas covered by the existing DSL, fixed and mobile wireless broadband operators were carried out by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources ('DCENR'). In the process of identifying the areas to which the NBS would apply, approximately 12,500 premises which were not covered by existing broadband service providers, were excluded from the NBS as the area in which they are located was already deemed substantially covered. While the mapping exercise did take account of the height of the local terrain it did not take into account local clutter arising from trees, buildings or other local obstructions or split copper lines as this information was not available. As a result of this shortcoming it has been recognised that there are also premises (estimated at a further 12,500) that would appear to be in a covered area but due to local obstacles or technical issues are not able to avail of the coverage from the existing broadband operators. Accordingly, DCENR envisage that there are 25,000 potential applicants, made up of 12,500 potential applicants living in the unserved premises identified as part of the NBS mapping exercise which are beyond the reach of existing service providers and a further 12,500 applicants who are living in areas that are deemed to be served but who are unable to obtain a service from the existing service providers due to local obstacles or technical issues. The potential applicants under this scheme will not be eligible to be given a service under the NBS, because the areas they live in are not covered under the NBS. The NBS (http://www.three.ie/NBS) website contains an address checker which will allow applicants to confirm that they live outside the NBS area (http://ve.bizmaps.ie/threeireland/Pages/Public/NBSPublicPage.aspx) Despite the fact that the non-NBS areas were deemed to be substantially covered at the time of the mapping exercise which informed the NBS process, there continues to be a comparatively small number of premises (c. 25,000, or approximately 1% of all premises in the country), which continue to have no broadband coverage. The unserved premises in question are generally in low population density rural locations and are dispersed in nature and there is a continued and persistent failure of the market to provide a broadband service to these premises as the deployment of the necessary additional infrastructure or extension of existing infrastructure to serve these isolated customers is not justifiable under normal open market economic criteria. It is proposed to conduct an open tendering process under the EU Procurement Rules to find a service provider who will create the necessary infrastructure and/or extend the reach of existing infrastructure to enable access to broadband for the consumers who qualify under the scheme. The market is unlikely to make the necessary investment in infrastructure to make broadband available to remaining “unserved” consumers. Without the intervention proposed through the scheme, those unserved consumers and businesses in the rural areas concerned will be denied access to the benefits of broadband. The scheme will give an opportunity to existing service providers to offer a service to the particular consumers as part of the verification process, and only the consumers who are not offered a service during the verification process will qualify to be included in the scheme. The scheme is therefore designed to address a genuine market failure. Type of operations supported: The Scheme will support activities under options 1 and 2 of Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005: “Creation of and enabling access to broadband infrastructure including backhaul facilities and ground equipment (e.g. fixed, terrestrial wireless, satellite-based or combination of technologies)” and, “Upgrade of existing broadband infrastructure” The type of infrastructures adopted will be a matter for the successful bidder, depending on the technology or mix of technology chosen by the bidder. DCENR is not requiring a particular technology. For instance, if the successful bidder was using a fixed or mobile wireless technology to reach a particular consumer or cluster of consumers, this could involve putting in place infrastructure such as a mast or a number of masts, connection to or establishment of backhaul infrastructure to secure a connection, and the installation of routers and/or modems. If a wired technology was adopted, then this could involve installing or upgrading wires, associated civil works (ducts), associated facilities such as digital switches, equipment such as routers and modems. If a satellite technology was adopted, it would involve the installation of satellite dishes, transmitting and receiving equipment, specialised modems and routers. Main Features of the Scheme The Scheme will identify and verify consumers, living in rural areas, who are unable to obtain a broadband service at an affordable price within a reasonable timeframe and a database of such consumers, who will be regarded as “qualified applicants” under the scheme, will be constructed. In order to qualify, applicants must:
Possible beneficiaries under the Scheme will be identified and notified to existing service providers:
The Scheme is designed to benefit only those consumers who are unable to obtain a broadband service under the normal prevailing market conditions. If an existing service provider is willing to offer and deliver a service to a consumer, then they will not be eligible under the scheme. The Service It is intended that the minimum required service to be provided under the scheme will have the following characteristics:
It will be a matter for bidders to identify the most appropriate infrastructure to achieve the aims of the scheme. This will include the use of new and existing infrastructure used for
Roll-Out of the Scheme Once a service provider is selected under the procurement process, the final list of applicants will be given to the Service provider who will then roll out the service. It is expected that the Service provider will contact the applicants and offer them a service. There will be an appropriate timeframe and protocol put in place to give the applicant the opportunity to accept the service. If, after a fixed period and a fixed routine of contact, the applicant declines the service, they will be considered to no longer qualify under the scheme. Accordingly, the total number of consumers to be served under the scheme will become clear when the scheme is rolled out. It will be a matter for the bidder to price their bid in accordance with their view of the expected market response. The service will be rolled out over a two year period and that all applicants under the scheme will have been provided with a service by the end of 2012. Following this rollout period, no new customers will be connected under this scheme. The successful bidder will be required to continue the service to the customers under the scheme until the end of 2015. Wholesale Access The winning bidder will be required to make the infrastructure that is subsidised under the scheme available to other operators at a wholesale rate so that they can also use the infrastructure to offer services. Distribution of the support A once-off charge for consumers connected during the roll-out of the scheme will be paid. This is expected to be invoiced by the successful bidder to DCENR on a monthly basis. Demarcation line and criteria with other EU financial instruments: EU funding has been provided to previous broadband intervention initiatives including the National Broadband Strategy, the Group Broadband Scheme (GBS), and the Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) Programme. Each of these initiatives has been successful in assisting the roll-out of broadband networks by Service Providers. These initiatives are funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The remaining unserved premises have not been, and will not be, addressed by any other EU funded scheme. Specific measures will be taken to ensure demarcation is maintained and to prevent double subsidisation;
With regard to the Metropolitan Area Networks schemes (MANS), these schemes are very different in nature to either the NBS or the Scheme now proposed. The main goal of the MANS programme is to provide a communications infrastructure (ducts, fibre) and wholesale services to operators in towns outside Dublin to reduce the high fixed cost of building own infrastructure for telecommunications operators, which represents the most important barrier to entry in this market. The MANs tackle a major bottleneck, the so-called “middle mile” between local loop and regional networks. They are carrier neutral wholesale fibre optic networks generally in a ring formation which can be linked back to the international points of connectivity by backhaul, in the areas where such backhaul infrastructure exists. They are facilitative infrastructure for Service Providers to use, if required, but the MANs do not, of themselves, mean that their existence in a town implies that consumers there or in the surrounding areas can definitely obtain a broadband service. The scheme now proposed is designed to provide the necessary infrastructure to ensure connectivity for the individual consumers who will qualify under the scheme. This is a fundamentally different problem from that which was addressed by the MANS scheme. The consumers who are likely to benefit from the scheme now proposed will not have benefitted from the funding provided from the MANS. As DCENR will be co-ordinating the spending on the MANS, the NBS and the scheme now proposed, it is in a position to ensure that no overlap occurs with regard to the different funding methods employed. The EAFRD co-financed Rural Development Programme for Ireland provides for supports to develop the capacity of rural dwellers to utilise ICT including Internet and broadband to access e-services and other public and commercial electronic applications. The Rural Broadband Reach Scheme will clearly complement this support, while not entailing any overlap in the types of support provided. The RBR will also complement ERDF funded schemes by only servicing unreachable premises under these schemes. Compliance with Regulations Operations covered by this measure do not and will not qualify for support in Ireland under the schemes listed in Annex 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1974/2006. Funding under this measure will not support actions, which may be funded by Unspent Single Payment Scheme Funds under Pillar 1. State Aid A State Aid Notification to DG Competition (N607/2009 Rural Broadband Reach Scheme – Ireland) has been made. Financing: Total Cost: €0 Public Expenditure: €0 This scheme is now closed for applications. Funding has been attributed to M121 TAMS and M214 REPS. Quantified targets for EU common indicators:
Additional programme-specific indicators and quantified targets:
Village Renewal and Development Legal basis Article 52 (b) (ii) of Reg. (EC) N 1698/2005 Point 5.3.3.2.2 of Annex II of regulation (EC) N 1974/2006
Villages and small towns are the focal point for a significant section of the rural community and as such are a priority for development. The focus for improvement will extend to the enhancement of villages, small towns and the surrounding countryside. Actions will be aimed at enhancing the environmental, amenity and surface structural aspects of these communities and as such will have complementarity with other Axis 3 measures, particularly tourism and conservation of the local heritage. All actions under this measure involving public areas must be agreed with the relevant local authority. Objective of the measure To provide appropriate supports to enhance the economic and social attractiveness of villages, small towns and the surrounding countryside Content
Demarcation Urban renewal measures supported by the ERDF will be limited to Gateway and Hub towns only. The village renewal measure under the EAFRD will be excluded from Gateway and Hub towns and will fully respect the definition of rural areas in this programme Target group All rural dwellers The relevant Local Authority in a LAG area may apply for funding, at the rate of aid applied to community groups, to carry out projects under this measure. Such applications will only be considered eligible where the proposal involves a community group that has agreed to contribute at least 5% of the total project costs.
Countryside, villages and small towns Risk of overlap with First Pillar – EAGF A member of a Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisation receiving support for investment actions, environmental actions or training under the Scheme of Aid for Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations is precluded from receiving support for similar actions under this measure. Quantified targets for EU ccommon indicators48
Output
Result Population in rural areas benefiting from enhancement actions: includes economic, social, consumer and visual benefit
Impact
Conservation and Upgrading of the Rural Heritage Legal basis Article 52 (b) (iii) of Reg. (EC) N 1698/2005 Point 5.3.3.2.3 of Annex II of regulation (EC) N 1974/2006
Rural heritage resources, be they natural, built or cultural in form must be developed and utilised in a sustainable manner, by and for, the good of the community. Under this measure, conservation actions should be extended to include not just conservation and protection actions for the natural, cultural, social and vernacular heritage but also encompass pro-active initiatives in relation to the utilisation of local resources to provide sustainable and renewable energy options for local communities. Likewise, actions concerning environmental awareness and improvement should be complementary to those, particularly under the Agri-environmental section of the programme. Such actions should have a strong local community aspect and address the protection of the natural environment, particularly in relation to water quality and degradation of natural amenities including local beaches and other coastal areas of high environmental and economic value to local communities. A high degree of complementarity with renewable energy actions under Axis 1 and agri-environmental actions under Axis 2 will be obligatory under this measure. Actions funded under the EAFRD to protect local water bodies will focus on the amenity and recreational value of such resources while ERDF-supported interventions will address water treatment and drinking quality standards. Similarly, actions at farm level to protect water resources will be supported primarily under Axis 2 and any such actions will be excluded from support under this measure. The Traditional Farm Buildings measure helps to ensure that a number of traditional farm buildings, which contribute to the visual landscape and are of historical and architectural value, will be maintained into the future. It is operated by the Heritage Council on behalf of the Department. The Heritage Council issue a certificate on satisfactory completion of works. Grants of 75% of the total cost of works are covered under the scheme and the balance of 25% must be from the applicant’s own resources. The Traditional Farm building measure is integrated into Measure 214 – REPS. Objective of the measure To provide an integrated approach to the protection of the local heritage through a suite of related preservation actions, complemented by a range of initiatives designed to develop the sustainable economic contribution of the natural heritage Content
Renewable energy initiatives in this regard must be community focused and the emphasis is equally on the environmental protection of the rural area involved. Many such sustainable energy initiatives will by their very nature be located in areas of high nature value, so there is a natural linkage between them under this heading. Actions, particularly in the domain of renewable energy and with an environmental aspect, must be agreed with the relevant state agencies and respect all environmental legislation and meet best practice standards. Target group Rural population The relevant Local Authority in a LAG area may apply for funding, at the rate of aid applied to community groups, to carry out projects under this measure. Such applications will only be considered eligible where the proposal involves a community group that has agreed to contribute at least 5% of the total project costs.
All rural areas Quantified targets for EU common indicators49
Output
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