Digital Kerry is a new function setup in the Economic & Community Directorate to aid the transformation and reputation of the County as a Smart, Sustainable location which develops, adapts and adopts technology to improving the quality of life of our residents and visitors as well as the economic & social development of the County.

It has a number of areas of responsibility

• Development of a County Digital Strategy and aiding its delivery
• Broadband & Mobile
  • National Broadband Plan liaison.
  • Broadband Connection Points (Connect Community Hubs)
  • WiFi4EU
  • Mobile & 5G
• Smart Kerry initiatives liaison

The Head of Digital is Brian Looney, who has worked as the Council’s Head of Information Systems since 2001. He is also our Broadband Officer.

Digital Strategy

A Digital Strategy is being developed and will be published in 2021. Kerry County Council, in conjunction with various stakeholder groups, began the process of developing a Digital Strategy for the County. The strategy will be a key vision, opportunities and objectives document to developing business, skills, communities and capacity in the County to available of digital technologies underpinned by the National Broadband Plan.

The strategy is expected to go to Council in 2021 for adoption after engagement with various business, council, public service and community stakeholders.

The framework for the strategy is centred on a number of pillars under which high level objectives are established.

The availability of High-Speed broadband is a key infrastructural requirement to drive continued economic and community development in the County.

With the addition of many households and businesses in Kerry to the OpenEir Rural Fibre Rollout programme, as well as new rollouts by SIRO, over 61,000 premises in the County now have access to high-speed broadband.

The National Broadband Plan was signed by the Government with NBI (National Broadband Ireland) in November 2019 with a commitment to connect the outstanding ~27,000 premises in Kerry over the term of that plan.

The Broadband Officer plays a key role working with Central Govt, NBI and the local community to implement the Plan and to deal with Broadband and mobile issues in the County.

Broadband Connection Points (Connected Community Hubs)
As part of the commitment in the National Broadband Plan, the Government has set out an objective of providing 150Mbps (or greater) services to 12 community and school facilities in parts of the County in the Intervention Area in the first year of the plan.

The following locations were selected as the Kerry BCP’s and services will be provided during 2020 to these locations – which will become in most cases, Digital Community Hubs.

Chapeltown Community Centre	V23H240
Tureencahill Community Centre	P51T663
Railway Station Heritage Centre and Community Space	V23H306
Derrynane House	V23FX65
Saint Fiachna’s Church – Community Centre	V93X082
Kielduff Community Centre	V92K061
Cable Station, Valentia	V23H685
Cillín Liath (Ionad Pobail na Dromoda)	V23RK10
Killeenagh (inch) – Community Centre	V92HK31
Coars National School	V23Y597
Dunloe Upper (Black Valley) National School	V93YN52
Boheeshil National School	V93EC56

Wifi4EU
Kerry County Council has secured 4 vouchers to enable delivery of free public Wifi in Tralee, Killarney, Listowel and Killorglin under the EU Wifi4EU scheme.  Each voucher is worth €15,000 and the Department of Rural and Community Development has provided match funding.

Detailed design of the four MD schemes has taken place in 2019 in consultation with Local Stakeholders for tender in 2020 and implementation in early 2021.