Broadband, Digital and Information Technology Department

managers in the OH&SMS, the implementation of a comprehensive Safety Inspection and Audit Plan and raising awareness around the causes of accidents using Safety Alerts. The council is continually developing its Occupational Health & Safety Management System and sets targets for each Directorate and work area in order to continuously improve its Health and Safety performance.

Broadband, Digital and Information Technology Department

The primary focus of activities within the Broadband, Digital and Information Technology Department is to:

 Deliver on the actions and programmes under the Clare Digital

Strategy  Provide a high level of user support to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the provision of customer service through the use of ICT

Since the adoption of the Clare Digital Strategy in 2018, the Broadband, Digital and Information Technology Dept has been extremely active in implementing a number of actions under this strategy.

In 2019, this Dept will be further involved in working with a number of communities to further progress the Digital Agenda. This will involve the deployment of WiFi in a number of towns in the County and assisting communities to exploit the potential of same. The budget 2019 provides for €15k towards the development of the WiFi towns under the rural area. Also, the provision of access to Broadband through the establishment of strategic community access points is also planned. The establishment of two further Digital Hubs is also to be completed in 2019 and is dealt with in the capital report. The budget also provides for the day to day operation of the digital hubs. Provision has been made to maintain the Council’s Local Area Network and also our Wide Area Network. This includes our Council HQ in Ennis and also our remote sites in other locations. It is also intended to upgrade the Library’s Network and integrate it with the main Council’s infrastructure thus providing the users with improved access to systems and services.

The upgrading and implementation of new systems, in particular, Geographical Information Systems, Customer Relation Management and the deployment of Mobile Devices are provided for in this year’s Estimates. This is in addition to the normal operating costs, software licensing etc.

The budget provides for the increased cost of cyber security and the required audit in 2019.