Policy information
Digital Inclusion
From Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
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The internet is a resource for everyone. It connects billions of people and offers countless ways to interact, communicate, be creative and productive. This means new opportunities in terms of how we live, work, and learn. It is vital that everyone is given the opportunity to participate fully in today’s digital world.
The first phase of the National Digital Strategy was launched in July 2013. This strategy focuses on digital engagement and how Ireland can benefit from a digitally engaged society. It sets out a clear vision and a number of practical actions to help increase the number of citizens and businesses engaging online through industry and enterprise, citizen training, schools and education.
Building on Phase 1, the government is looking to develop a new National Digital Strategy. This is in response to technological change over the years and the range of opportunities and challenges this presents to Irish society.
A public consultation on a new National Digital Strategy was held at the end of 2018. This consultation invited members of the public and interested stakeholders to make submissions that would inform the scope and delivery of the new strategy which is now being drafted.
Web accessibility ensures people can use and operate websites and mobile application based services, especially people with disabilities. When websites are correctly designed and developed, all users generally have equal access to information and functionality.
The European Union (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 (SI 358/2020) requires public sector bodies to ensure that their websites and apps are accessible to users, especially people with disabilities, by making them perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The regulations came into force on 23 September 2020 and transpose EU Web Accessibility Directive 2016/2102.
All public sector bodies are required to prepare, and regularly update, a detailed, comprehensive and clear accessibility statement on the compliance of their websites and mobile applications with these Regulations, to be placed on the website or alongside their mobile application. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523 contains a model accessibility statement.
The National Disability Authority is the national monitoring body under these regulations. They can advise on how to make your websites and content more accessible to users.
In a connected society, digital skills are essential if we are going to realise the full social and economic potential of the digital world. The government has introduced several initiatives and programmes to help develop the digital skills of people all over Ireland.
The internet connects billions of people all over the world, giving them continued access to new markets and products. The future of business and enterprise is reliant on digital platforms; no business now can afford to ignore the potential of digital markets.
For many businesses though, the question is not whether to trade online, it's how to start. Designed to assist small businesses, the Trading Online Voucher Scheme offers training and advice, along with financial assistance of up to €2,500. This programme was developed under the National Digital Strategy, funded by DECC and delivered by the nationwide network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs).
The scheme is aimed at businesses with limited online trading presence and:
- ten employees or less
- €2 million turnover or less
- at least six months trading
Since 1 January 2021, responsibility for this scheme has moved to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) was established in 2003 to oversee the Digital Hub initiative. The original decision to establish the Digital Hub was taken in light of the success of other high-tech clusters around the world and was seen as an important contributor to Government policy for the development of the digital tech industry. The DHDA property portfolio comprises a campus of circa 5.6 acres located in the Liberties area of Dublin.
The DHDA played an important role in the early development of the tech sector in Dublin and over 400 companies have progressed through the Hub since its foundation and have included Stripe, Slack and Etsy.
There are currently 31 companies employing 270 people located in the Digital Hub Campus.
The Government recently announced that the DHDA is to be dissolved and its properties are to be transferred to the Land Development Agency. The decision was made following a strategic review commissioned by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which concluded that the digital tech sector in Dublin has developed significantly in the past twenty years, and that the Agency is no longer required in order to sustain the continued growth of the sector. The strategic review report can be found on the department's website .
The managed wind down, which will take account of the needs of the clientele and staff of the DHDA and the community, is expected to be completed by mid-2022. The Digital Hub will continue to provide office space and business support services to growing technology companies and industry organisations during the wind down period.
The National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) , established in 2006, is a Government initiative to support early stage innovative digital enterprises start-ups through accelerator and pre-seed investment supports. The NDRC delivers a mentorship-driven accelerator with €100,000 founder-friendly pre-seed funding, and early stage supports including non-equity pre-accelerator programmes to entrepreneurs across Ireland. It invests in start-ups building “global solutions to global problems”, to create internationally scalable Irish companies.
The company was established by five educational institutions: UCD, TCD, DCU, IADT and NCAD ran the NDRC from 2006 under two concession agreements. An independent review, commissioned by the Department, concluded that the initiative had added economic value, that it would not be provided by the private sector in the absence of State support and should be continued. Following a public procurement process, the contract to deliver the NDRC services was awarded to a consortium led by Dogpatch Labs on 30 November 2020.
The principal services, which are provided under the NDRC name, include:
1. Accelerator Programmes and capital investments in early stage digital enterprises
2. Regional services: pre-accelerator programmes and “training the trainer” services
3. Investment portfolio management.
There is a strong regional dimension to the services which are delivered through Dogpatch Labs, based in Dublin and its regional hub partners at the Republic of Work, Cork, RDI Hub in Kerry and Portershed in Galway. The regional partners all play a central role in the design and the delivery of the early stage supports and pre-accelerator programmes. Through a ‘hub and spoke’ model each hub has relationships with other emerging hubs, universities and incubators in its region to maximise entrepreneurial support across every county in Ireland.
The Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL) is designed to support the digital transformation of Europe’s society and economy and forms part of the Multiannual Financial Framework running from 2021 to 2027. The budgetary allocation of €7.5 billion was agreed in December 2020. €2.2 billion will be dedicated to supercomputing, €2.1 billion to artificial intelligence, €1.7 billion to cybersecurity, €1.1 billion to encouraging the use of digital technologies and €580 million to advanced digital skills. DIGITAL aims to increase European competitiveness globally under the five identified key areas: Artificial Intelligence, High Performance Computing, Cybersecurity and Trust, Advanced Digital Skills and Interoperability.
The first calls for proposals for funding (in the areas of AI, deployment, trust services, data spaces, QCI, digital skills, an European Digital Innovation Hubs) were launched in November of this year.
Read more about a Digital Europe
The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF2) Digital programme (2021-2027) builds on the previous one, CEF1, which supported cross-border digital infrastructures and services, as well as free internet access for local communities through the WiFi4EU initiative between 2014 and 2020.
Under CEF2, the European Commission will co-fund actions aiming to equip Europe's main transport routes and providers of key services in local communities with 5G connectivity, as well as actions to deploy or upgrade backbone networks based on advanced technologies.
With a planned budget of €258 million, the first calls under the programme focused on infrastructure connecting federated cloud services, backbone infrastructures for Digital Global Gateways, such as submarine cables, as well as preparatory actions to set up operational digital platforms for transport and energy infrastructures across the EU. This follows the adoption of the first Work Programme for CEF2 Digital in December 2021 that earmarked more than €1 billion in total funding for the period 2021-2023.
The second call for proposals is now open and focuses on integration of 5G with edge computing and federated cloud facilities, 5G coverage along transport corridors, 5G for Smart Communities, backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways, and Quantum Communication Infrastructure (QCI). More information on the programme as well as the application portal itself can be found on the following European Commission webpage.
The deadline for applications has been extended to 21 March 2023 for the following calls:
- CEF-DIG-2022-5GCORRIDORS
- CEF-DIG-2022-5GSMARTCOM
- CEF-DIG-2022-CLOUD
- CEF-DIG-2022-GATEWAYS
- CEF-DIG-2022-TA
The deadline for applications has been extended to 13 April 2023 for the following call:
- CEF-DIG-2022-EUROQCI
CEF2 Digital calls are mainly open to entities, including joint ventures, established in Member States and overseas countries or territories.
The CEF Digital programme will contribute to the development of Gigabit and5G networks, as well as to boosting the capacity and resilience of digital backbone infrastructures and the digitalisation of transport and energy networks.
The Commission has opened a third set of calls for proposals worth over €240 million under the digital strand of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to strengthen the deployment of ultra-fast, secure and sustainable digital infrastructures.
This new set of calls includes 5G coverage along transport Corridors (€100 million); 5G and Edge Cloud for Smart Communities (€51 million); and backbone connectivity for Digital Global Gateways (€90 million).
The first two calls focus on improving 5G connectivity throughout rural communities and urban areas, to ensure that all EU citizens have access to digital technologies and services. The calls also support the development of 5G infrastructure along European transport corridors, for example to support road-safety services and provide gigabit connectivity services to vehicles users and passengers, while ensuring 5G/cloud edge integration.
Under CEF3, the European Commission will co-fund actions aiming to equip Europe's main transport routes and providers of key services in local communities with 5G connectivity, as well as actions to deploy or upgrade backbone networks based on advanced technologies.
The Commission will be hosting a Call 3 Information Day on 26 October 2023 from 8.30am to 12pm . You can find more information on the European Commission website.
The Commission’s deadline for calls is 4pm on 20 February 2024 . You will find links to each of the calls below.
Please note that if you are considering submitting a proposal, you will require a letter of support. Please submit your proposal to the contact points Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications by 5.30pm on 10 January 2024 to allow time for review.
CEF3 Digital calls are mainly open to entities, including joint ventures, established in Member States and overseas countries or territories.
We wish to point out to the FAQs section in the Funding & tender opportunities portal, as it is always useful to find further information.
For any questions related to the CEF Digital calls in general, we invite you to use the following point of contact: HADEA-CEF-DIGITAL-CALLS@ec.europa.eu
| Karen Tighe | karen.tighe@decc.gov.ie |
| John Uhlemann | john.uhlemann@decc.gov.ie |
| Rachel O'Neill | rachel.oneill@decc.gov.ie |
On 14 December 2023, the European Commission adopted the Commission Implementing Decision amending the Digital Europe Main and Cybersecurity Work Programmes 2023-2024 (C/2023/8620).
The final versions of the Work Programmes have been published on the European Commission website.
More background information on these Work Programmes can be found on the Commission website.
On 16 January 2024, the European Commission opened a set of calls for proposals under Deployment Actions in the area of Cybersecurity.
6 topics are open under this call:
- Strengthen Cybersecurity capacities of European SMEs in line with CRA requirements and obligations (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-STRENGTHENCRA ) Budget: €22 million
- Novel applications of AI and other enabling technologies for security operation centres (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-ENABLINGTECH) Budget: €30 million
- Deployment of Post Quantum Cryptography in systems in industrial sectors (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-PQCINDUSTRY) Budget: €22,250,000
- Tools for compliance with CRA requirements and obligations (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-COMPLIANCECRA) Budget: €8 million
- Standardisation and awareness of the European transition to post-quantum cryptography (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-STANDARDPQC) Budget: €1 million
- Roadmap for the transition of European public administrations to a post-quantum cryptography era (DIGITAL-ECCC-2024-DEPLOY-CYBER-06-TRANSITIONEUPQC) Budget: €750,000
The call will close at 4pm Irish time on 26 March 2024.
All relevant information can be found on the Funding and Tender opportunities portal.
The Digital Europe Programme Committee are launching a 12-week open stakeholder consultation on the Digital Europe programme in the context of the mid-term evaluation.
The consultation seeks to gain insights into stakeholders' experience with the programme, their perspectives on how relevant the objectives of the programme are to the digital transformation of companies and the public sector, how the programme responds to current and future technological trends, the perceived coherence with other EU or national/local funding and what they consider to be its expected impact.
You are kindly invited to participate, spread the word, and raise interest to maximise the potential for meaningful feedback.