Vol. 696 No. 1
34 Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding the provision of commercial digital terrestrial television here; the future position regarding the ongoing negotiation between the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and a consortium (details supplied); the timescale for the roll-out of a free to air DTT service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43460/09]
35 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the EU Commissioner for the Information Society’s call for EU countries to expedite the move to digital terrestrial television; the reason for his failure to ensure the signing of a contract to deliver DTT on time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43549/09]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 35 together.
The Broadcasting Act 2009 provides, consolidates and updates broadcasting legislation. Part 8 of this Act replaces and updates the Broadcasting (Amendment) Act 2007, which provided for the development of digital terrestrial television in Ireland and for the closure of the national analogue TV network. Under the 2009 Act, RTE continues to have responsibility for the provision of a national free to air digital terrestrial television system with capacity to carry RTE 1, Network 2, TG4 and TV3. This new service will eventually replace the existing analogue terrestrial television service.
The legislation also requires the newly established Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, to provide for the development of commercial DTT services. The BAI, which is an independent regulatory authority, is responsible under the 2009 Act for the licensing and competition issues raised by the Deputies. In this regard, a competition for commercial multiplexes was initiated by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, BCI, in 2008 under the 2007 Act and is still ongoing. The contract has been offered to the One Vision consortium. The BAI has taken over the role of the BCI in finalising this competition. While I have no direct control over or function in these matters, I am concerned on policy grounds to see an early agreement on the provision of commercial DTT services and an early time path for the implementation of such agreement. My policy objective is the achievement of the earliest switch-off of the analogue system, thereby realising valuable spectrum to enable Ireland to reap the benefits of the digital dividend.
With regard to the roll-out of DTT services, I am informed by RTE that, to date, 13 sites have been DTT enabled to accommodate both the single free to air DTT multiplex and also three commercial DTT multiplexes. This represents the most difficult and costly element of the build plan, as it includes the main transmitter sites in Ireland. It also involves replacing several of these masts to accommodate the commercial multiplexes. With regard to the timing of the roll-out of the free to air DTT service, the legislation provides that RTE must provide a full national DTT service by the end of 2011 or such later date as I decide. RTE has not yet set a date for launching the free to air DTT service but has indicated a preference for launching in parallel with a commercial DTT operator as the availability of commercial DTT is important to assist RTE in getting a return on its investment and to ensure adequate viewer choice in the digital era.
Regarding the target date for switching off the analogue terrestrial television services, the Broadcasting Act 2009 provides for me to establish a date or dates for analogue switch off, after consultation with RTE and the BAI, on, among other things, the availability of digital television services in the country, the availability of suitable televisions and other receivers and the take up of these services. I am in close contact with the BAI and RTE on progress in these areas. The European Commission has set 2012 as the timeline for analogue switch off throughout Europe and recent papers from the European Commission are requesting that member states should endeavour to adopt 1 January 2012 as the target date. I consider that it is in the best interests of Ireland to switch off the analogue services in 2012. In this regard, I have established a group to advise me on planning for analogue switch off and I expect to report on this in the first quarter of 2010.
To say the Minister's attitude towards this issue has been lethargic is an understatement. The response when I tabled the same question on 13 October was more or less the same with a few slight amendments, which do not offer anything new. We do not know whether licences will be auctioned or will be granted on a roll-over basis and we do not know anything about the spectrum allocation generally, which also needs to be addressed by the Minister in the context of the renewal of existing licences. Since the Boxer consortium pulled out of the process for the commercial provision of DTT services on a multiplex structure that RTE was to provide through its network, there has been little or no progress. The Minister said negotiations are ongoing between One Vision and RTE on the one hand and One Vision and the BAI on the other.
Will the Minister please outline some dates in order that people's attention can be focused and a target date is ensured by which the switch off of the analogue service will be facilitated? Does the Minister agree with RTE that a free to air multiplex service should be launched at the same time as the three commercial multiplexes, which, hopefully, One Vision will provide?
I, too, have been deeply frustrated about the delays. It is not a lack of ambition or intention on my part that has delayed the process. However, a process is set out in the 2007 Act, which was adopted by the 2009 Act, and we must follow it. The process will comprise a free to air service and the commercial multiplex. The contractual arrangements for the multiplex must be negotiated between the BAI and the commercial operator and between the operator and RTE regarding the transmission network. Earlier this year, I indicated when the Boxer consortium failed that I was confident the second choice in the BAI process would get up and running. I had expected that the contractual arrangements would be much clearer by early autumn and it is deeply frustrating that the process has not led to a result. I cannot have direct control over this. I must be careful not to interfere with a process set out in legislation, but I have concerns about the delays and all parties should be aware of this.
With regard to the Deputy's two questions, I have said to all the parties at each stage that the 2012 deadlines still holds. There is an urgency for us in switching off our analogue system to use the released spectrum for alternative uses, particularly in the broadband sector. That is an imperative and I am still looking to implement that deadline.
The Deputy's second question related to whether it is best to launch a unified single service. That is the preferred solution but if we cannot achieve a satisfactory outcome in the current process and it cannot deliver something that is commercially viable for the operator, which meets the requirements set out in legislation, we will have to examine alternatives and we will find a solution that meets our objectives.
The Minister is not inspiring confidence. I would like clarity on the deadline. The EU Commission has made it clear that the aim is to have analogue switched off by 1 January 2012 but the Minister has referred to 2012 in such a way as to imply this could happen some time that year and, therefore, this could happen at the end of the year. Were that the case, Ireland would be at a great disadvantage because the EU is moving ahead to ensure the exploitation of the digital dividend is realised for the economic benefit of those who can avail of it. There is an urgency, therefore, about this matter.
Is the Minister aiming to meet the deadline of 1 January 2012? What will be the nature of this process? The Minister is a key player, not a spectator. Will this process go on indefinitely or will a timeframe be set? Mr. Michael O'Keeffe, the chief executive officer of the BAI, stated in the newspapers in September, "Next month will be critical". Next month in that context was October but it is almost December now. Were the critical actions taken in October or are we in a stasis, with no progress being made? What are the stumbling blocks?
I would aim for the 1 January deadline if we could make it. When we have our system up and running, the switch off may give a commercial advantage. It may help the market to deliver but I cannot commit to this because we do not know yet. We have not signed off on the contractual arrangements for the commercial multiplexes. That is a deadline I will look to achieve but if it does not happen by 1 January, it will happen during 2012. There are complexities in that we will seek to co-ordinate our switch off with Northern Ireland for a variety of reasons. It will lead to much greater efficiencies in the transmission network and so on and the Northern Ireland authorities may not be ready for that date. We will have to negotiate that but we can only do so when we have a clear indication as to what platform will deliver the alternative television service to run that system.
I share the frustration with the delay. Negotiations are continuing. There have been extensive negotiations between RTE and the consortium but also between the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the consortium. As I am not party to the negotiations I cannot give details of them. I understand they deal with transmission costs, the nature of the consortium and how it is putting its own programme together. It is frustrating that the negotiations are taking so long. If it is not possible for us to achieve an outcome in this area the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, must, by proper legal means, set its own deadlines with regard to how we move on to alternative solutions.
The Minister likes to paint himself as a helpless observer who is frustrated like the rest of us. He is the Minister. He has powers within the legislation to set timelines and deadlines. What happens, for example, if OneVision pulls out, as Boxer did last spring? We would have to start from scratch again. We warned about this in the spring when we said we were concerned about OneVision's capacity to deliver. The Minister said he had full confidence it would happen. He also said RTE was required to produce free-to-air digital services by the end of this year, and not by the end of 2010. He said RTE would be required to proceed with free-to-air digital television regardless of whether there was a commercial element to the multiplexes or not. I disagreed with the Minister on that point at that time. He has now changed his position. He says the preference is to launch the free-to-air and commercial multiplex services at the same time because the only way to get people to buy into the switch-over is to give them something new.
The thing is drifting along and the Minister is not taking a grip of it. He is allowing someone else to deal with the problem. He has a legal obligation and the power to set timelines. Will he set a time within which OneVision, RTE and the BAI must come to an agreement, after which he will change the rules and find a different way to roll out digital terrestrial television, DTT, in Ireland? He needs to do that. Otherwise we will continue to drift and the deadline will continue to move beyond 2012.
It is up to the Minister to set a timeframe. He is not convincing in saying the BAI should take total control, even if it is the negotiating body.
The Minister now says it will be up to the BAI to look at alternatives. He is the Minister responsible. Can he outline his Department's view of the alternatives available if the current negotiations are not successful? Everyone knows about the disagreement about the tariff and this does not engender confidence. Clearly, the Minister has looked at options. Can he outline them, as well as outlining the timeline for the conclusion of the process?
With regard to whether RTE should already have switched from analogue to DTT, we deliberately changed the legislation to give us flexibility in this regard and not to impose a legal requirement on RTE to switch off at the end of this year. I thought about the matter and considered it better to give a certain flexibility. This was fortunate in the event of what has happened, that is, a delay in the process, which no one wanted.
The Deputies seem to be saying that if the process is not working we should change the rules.
No, the Minister should set a timeframe and only change the rules if the parties cannot get things done in that time.
The Minister raised the matter of changing rules.
One must be very careful in that regard. When one is in a commercially contractual and legally binding process one cannot change rules half way through.
We are not half way through. We are into extra time.
We are into extra time and I am far from satisfied.
The Minister should not handle the ball.
I am far from satisfied with the timelines that have evolved. That is a clear indication to the BAI that we need to seek resolution one way or the other. If we fail to reach a solution by one route, having gone through the proper legal process and procedures which are fair to all parties, we will find a resolution by other means.
What is the timescale? The Minister will not set one.
No. I want a timescale which meets the objective of our being able to switch off in 2012. That is a very urgent timescale because it takes time to set up any alternative or new DTT service. The masts are built, by and large.
I accept that.
The difficult infrastructural part is done. What must be agreed are the contractual arrangements for content provision.
What is the timescale for that?
The timescale must be a matter of months if we are to reach the 2012 deadline.
36 Deputy Simon Coveney asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the measures he is planning to introduce to promote bio-fuel production here in view of the setting a bio-fuel content for petrol and diesel target of 4%. [43461/09]
In the interests of security of supply and the imperative to reduce green house gas emissions, the development of alternative transport fuels is of critical importance.
The 2009 renewable energy directive has set a 10% target for renewable energy in transport across all member states by 2020. In order for Ireland to deliver on that target the Government is committed to the sustainable development of the Irish bio-fuels market in line with overall EU bio-fuel policy criteria.
The introduction of the national bio-fuel obligation next year will underpin delivery of the national bio-fuel target and will take full account of EU bio-fuels legislation. Priority drafting of the required legislation is currently being finalised. The national bio-fuels obligation will also integrate the EU Commission's guidelines on the sustainability criteria as soon as these are finalised. Under the obligation fuel suppliers will be legally required to include an average of 4% bio-fuels in their overall annual fuel sales. The obligation will create a long-term guaranteed market of scale to allow the Irish bio-fuel industry certainty for the development of the sector. The obligation therefore will act as an incentive for bio-fuel producers.
The bio-fuels mineral oil tax relief schemes have already supported the development of indigenous production. The schemes have resulted in 18 projects being awarded excise relief from 2005. Since the excise relief schemes were introduced there has been a steady increase in bio-fuels used in Ireland, albeit from a very low base. Prior to the introduction of the schemes, market penetration of bio-fuels was almost non-existent. In 2007, penetration was 0.6% and in 2008 penetration had risen to 1.6%. I am advised that it will be in excess of 2% this year. There have been at least five bio-fuel plants constructed or redeveloped on foot of excise relief granted under the schemes. A number of others are either at an advanced stage of planning, or have received planning permission.
The introduction of the bio-fuel obligation in 2010 will, through the creation of a guaranteed market demand, provide the Irish bio-fuel sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new infrastructure. It will therefore underpin the development of economically sustainable production of bio-fuels in Ireland.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
The trading of certificates under the scheme, will also act as an incentive for Irish producers. For each litre of bio-fuel sold in the market a certificate will be issued by the National Oil Reserves Agency as the administrator of the scheme. Certificates will also be subject to verification by sellers to demonstrate that they meet the sustainability criteria. Bio-fuel obligation certificates may be traded among registered operators. I am confident tradability of these certificates will enable small indigenous producers, in particular, to enter the market and develop their businesses.
I agree with the setting of targets for the blending of bio-fuels with petrol and diesel. However, to do so in the absence of a plan to promote the bio-fuel industry in Ireland is a mistake. The Minister has done half the job. He has not provided a plan to deliver significant bio-fuel production in the domestic market. Importing ethanol or bio-fuel from Brazil or other parts of the world does nothing for energy security.
How many of the 18 projects for which the Minister's Department provided excise relief have resulted in bio-fuel production in Ireland? How many resulted in bio-fuel factories or production facilities in Ireland? The Minister says 2% of our fuel this year will be bio-fuel. This is about 110 million litres. How much of that is produced in Ireland?
How many planning permissions have been granted for bio-fuel production facilities, which will have to provide a 4% bio-fuel content in petrol and diesel? That will be the equivalent of approximately 220 million litres going into our cars, trucks and so on. How much of that will come from Irish production facilities?
I will give some further detail on what has been produced to date under the scheme. Of approximately 67 million litres of bioethanol, 55% was imported, of 103 million litres of EN590, approximately 50% was imported, of 5.5 million litres of pure plant oil, 7% was imported and of 4.5 million of captive fleets, 3% was imported. These are the figures I have.
In terms of how this will work, we are keen and intent on developing an Irish bio-fuels industry using home sourced crops, whether second generation bio-fuels, cereal, beet or rape seed oil or waste products, which can deliver Irish fuels. First and foremost, we must see how the European sustainability criteria will work. I believe they may give a real benefit to Irish produced material which will meet the requirements in terms of emissions reductions and not seeing the chopping down of rain forests or the change in land use problems which are there with imported bio-fuels. They will give us a real opportunity to promote home-grown bio-fuels and are due to come out at roughly the same time as our legislation will be brought before the House, hopefully early in the new year. That will give us time to set up this scheme, get it working and adjust accordingly to promote Irish bio-fuel producers.
I welcome what the Minister said in terms of recognising the problems of importing large quantities of bio-fuel, whether that is producing ethanol by cutting down rain forests or even the madness of transporting ethanol half way around the world and the carbon footprint that entails.
Will the Minister try to ensure in the legislation that all of the power is not in the oil companies' hands to simply source the bio-fuel they require to meet the criteria as cheaply as possible and, therefore, force competition between Irish bio-fuel companies and companies half way around the world? When putting the legislation together, we must positively discriminate in favour of producing bio-fuels domestically and require oil companies to source bio-fuels locally; otherwise, the bio-fuels plan is a waste of time, commercially and environmentally.
We will do everything we can to support the home generation of bio-fuels but subject to world trade rules. We cannot breach world trade rules, put in conditions which will result in difficulties under GATT and other arrangements and then have to reverse engines. More than anything, we need to create a stable market and a stable environment in which people can start to develop alternative bio-fuels products.
37 Deputy Liz McManus asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the action he will take to combat fuel poverty in winter 2009; the number of persons who live in fuel poverty here; the number of homes which were part of the warmer homes scheme for 2008 and to date in 2009; when he will publish the findings of the fuel poverty action research project; when this was first due for publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43550/09]
The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of institutional supports, programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock and energy efficiency awareness initiatives.
I am working closely with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to ensure a fully cohesive approach across Government to energy affordability. The interdepartmental-agency group led by my Department and the Department of Social and Family Affairs is drawing up an affordable energy strategy in line with the renewed programme for Government. The strategy will set out existing and future plans to tackle energy affordability. It is the intention to publish the strategy for public consultation before the end of the year.
The warmer homes scheme is administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland. The scheme is the primary mechanism for alleviating the key underlying cause of fuel poverty, namely, thermal inefficiency of houses. Some €20 million has been provided for the scheme in 2009, which includes €5 million provided by the ESB and Bord Gáis Éireann.
This level of funding is enabling structural improvements in at least 15,000 vulnerable homes by the end of 2009. This includes 2,000 homes benefiting from the ESB's home insulation scheme which operates alongside the warmer home scheme. The very significant upscaling of the scheme this year underlines the Government's commitment to addressing energy affordability. Some 5,343 homes were retrofitted under the warmer homes scheme in 2008. So far this year, 14,248 homes have benefited under the scheme.
The most recent research figures available on the numbers at risk of fuel poverty are set out in the national energy efficiency action plan. It reflects the analysis published in November 2008 by the Economic and Social Research Institute on fuel poverty in Ireland. The ESRI uses various methods for calculating the extent of fuel poverty. These include the expenditure method or share of income spent on fuels and the subjective assessment by occupants.
The ESRI estimates that using the expenditure method, 300,000 or 19.4% of Irish households may have experienced fuel poverty in 2008 at a time of particularly high Irish energy prices. Using the subjective method, 68,000 or 4.6% of households reported that they could not afford to heat their homes adequately in 2006. Enhancing the energy efficiency of homes through structural improvements is pivotal to the Government's strategy to address energy affordability.
The fuel poverty action research project was established by Combat Poverty and Sustainable Energy Ireland. The project was an ex post assessment of the energy, environmental, thermal comfort and health benefits of the warmer homes scheme.
The report was initially scheduled to be completed in 2008 but its completion was delayed due to the loss of key data. A draft report was circulated in August to members of the research community for comment. Publication of the final report, which has recovered the relevant data, is expected before next month.
I thank the Minister for the reply, although I am disappointed to say it was very similar to one I received to a previous parliamentary question. Will he confirm that essentially what he said was that he does not know how many people live in fuel poverty and that the research report and his strategy have not been published? He has nothing new to tell us even though the situation in terms of overall poverty is very serious. Despite the fact that there has been enormous economic growth in recent years, we have one of the highest excess mortality rates in Europe.
The Minister has no clear strategy in place to which we can refer and support, as we would like to do, to deal with fuel poverty once and for all, especially at a time when so many people who are out of work have skills in the construction trade. It is important that he gives us some idea as to his approach. He must be aware that the warmer home scheme does not relate to social housing which is the largest area where people are living in fuel poverty.
We now have the added experience of flooding. Inevitably, people's whose property has been flooded will have much greater energy bills as a result of dealing with the effects of flooding. What strategy will be in place for them?
Will the Minister clarify that Government policy and not Green Party policy in regard to carbon tax is to ring fence the money accruing in order to provide for greater energy efficiency?
I am reporting good news. The warmer home scheme has been ramped up. When I came into office more than two years ago, approximately 2,000 homes were being done but now approximately 15,000 homes are being done. It is targeting those most at risk, in particular older people whom we need to keep warm in winter. It makes a transformational difference to houses if the proper insulation is put in. Some 15,000 homes are being done per year which has a significant effect.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government had a budget of €20 million to target social housing, which needed to be targeted. On a house by house basis, the energy performance of social housing is being improved. That is in addition to the increase we were able to give in very difficult budgetary times in the fuel allowance by extending the weeks to which it applies and increasing the amount. We have taken various measures in the past year which have real effect and are keeping people warm and alive.
We need, however, to go further. This is the best investment we can make in terms of preparing us for future higher energy prices and to help cut down our emissions. With the Ministers for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Education and Science, who has invested similarly in insulation schemes, we are looking to continue that investment and to extend it further as part of an integrated fuel poverty strategy. That will have particular relevance as carbon tax is introduced, although I cannot go into the budget details in advance of 9 December. The scale of the investment we are making was brought home to me recently. The packages introduced by my Department and the Departments of Education and Science and Environment, Heritage and Local Government in last year's budget were the equivalent of more than €100 million. The American stimulus plan is the equivalent of approximately €400 million in the same area. At least our ambition and spend in that area is of a scale that matches anything that has been done in other countries. However, it is not ambitious enough and we have to extend and expand it, particularly in the area of social housing where people are more vulnerable.
The Minister, Deputy Gormley, has no problem commenting on this area. A recent headline states "Gormley insists carbon levy in budget will be revenue neutral". The Minister might explain how the Minister, Deputy Gormley, can speak out but he cannot. He might clarify the position because there is a great deal of confusion.
On social housing, will the Minister accept that it is not good enough to wait for casual vacancies to arise? The number of casual vacancies that arise are rare now because very few houses are being built and people cannot afford to move out of social housing. The Minister has to think of a new approach. External insulation is an obvious one, but there are probably other arrangements. The problem will not be dealt on the basis of waiting for casual vacancies to arise.
Will there be targets in this strategy that will address the problem in this area? It is all very well to have 1,500 houses, but fuel poverty will not be dealt with unless the scale is ramped up considerably. Will there be a timeframe for the implementation of the strategy or will it simply amount to aspirational proposals, which we have read about and heard previously from the Minister, which no longer meet the needs in this area, as more and more people struggle?
The provision of 1,500 houses represents action rather than aspirations. I agree with the Deputy that in terms of social housing, we have to consider some of the technologies we have developed. In the home energy scheme we have introduced the exterior insulation for particular support. I agree with the Deputy that such technology can be of particular use in regard to social housing. It can be applied to an apartment building and result in a significant reduction in energy use of the building without the need to disrupt the internal workings of the building or to require people to leave their homes. I agree with her that this is an area where we should ramp up our work and in which we should invest, having learned from the experience we have gained in recent years.
38 Deputy Noel J. Coonan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the fact that poor broadband provision has been identified as a critical issue preventing job creation in the mid-west region; when MANs schemes lying idle underground in Roscrea and Templemore in County Tipperary will be connected; when there will be direct connectivity and competitive backhaul cost to Dublin and accelerated investment in next generation network broadband, which is crucial for North Tipperary companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43462/09]
The widespread provision of broadband services is a priority for the Government. My Department has undertaken a number of initiatives to address the provision of broadband throughout the country, including the mid-west region. These initiatives include the national broadband scheme, NBS; the metropolitan area networks, MANs, programme; the broadband for schools programme, which is being evolved into a 100 megabits per second, Mbps, to post-primary schools programme; and the now concluded group broadband scheme, GBS.
Under the NBS the Department entered into a contract with "3", a Hutchison Whampoa company, for the delivery of broadband services to rural areas, many of which do not currently have any broadband service. The company 3 is required to provide services to all residences and businesses that are within the NBS coverage area and which seek a service. The NBS will provide broadband services in many areas in the mid-west, including north Tipperary.
The company 3 is progressing its network roll-out and services have gone live in a number of areas. The entire NBS area will be covered by September 2010.
Under the MANs programme, 86 MANs covering 92 towns, including Roscrea and Templemore, have been completed and elnet has been appointed as the management services entity, MSE, to manage, maintain and operate the MANs. The MANs are fibre based, open access networks, which will facilitate the provision of high speed broadband. The uptake of this infrastructure will depend on the level of demand in particular towns but it does represent a valuable enhancement of the infrastructure in relevant towns.
It is expected that the Roscrea and Templemore MANs will be taken over by elnet in quarter one of 2010. Between now and the time that the Roscrea and Templemore MANs are handed over to elnet, both MANs are available to service providers through an interim MSE which was appointed to manage and operate the phase II MANs. All the services providers using the MANs are aware of these interim arrangements.
The lighting of both MANs and interconnection to other networks is a matter for elnet and the relevant services provider under the terms of the MSE concession agreement. The Government strongly supports investment in high speed backhaul networks by service providers. I am also advancing the one stop shop proposal which, by facilitating access to State-owned ducting, should improve the quality and speed of backhaul networks.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I note he said such provision was a priority. I have been listening to that since I was elected to this House two and a half years ago. The time for sermonising and high rhetoric has long since passed. The Minister should learn from the old saying we often use in the country, namely, that actions speak louder than words. He mentioned there were 86 MANs in the country. Can he advise how many of them are connected and in operation at present? What is happening under phase III of MANs in the case of towns such as Thurles where there is no MAN system. Forfás has said that despite recent progress "Ireland continues to lag behind competitor regions in range, speed and cost of broadband", and it includes Dublin in that respect. I ask the Minister to confirm or deny that he and his Government are discriminating against rural Ireland and the mid-west region in particular, as was stated by the chief executive of the agency recently, when he said in a briefing that the strongest and most serious impediment to creating jobs and to maintaining existing jobs in the mid-west region was the lack of a decent broadband service. A direct international dial-up service is not available in the region.
I call the Minister to reply and I will call the Deputy again to speak on this question.
The Minister is presiding over this discrimination against rural Ireland and the mid-west region. This is not just a matter for elnet, it is a matter for the Minister and for the Government——
I call the Minister to reply. The Deputy will not interrupt the Chair.
——to have policy that will deliver equally to the people of Ireland, that will deliver as much to rural Ireland as it does to the people within the Pale.
The Deputy will have regard to the Chair.
I have to come back to——
I will call the Minister in a moment. Deputy Coonan will have regard to the Chair.
I always do.
I call the Minister to reply.
I will have to revert to Deputy Coonan on the exact number of MANs that are in operation. Of the 27 MANs under phase I — I am speaking from memory rather than detailed notes — all but one or two are connected and lit up. With regard to the phase II MANs——
Is the Minister telling the House that he does not know the number of MANs that are not working?
I do not have the exact numbers here. I am giving an estimate from my recollection. I said I would come back to Deputy Coonan on the specifics in order to be accurate. I have a clear broad outline but I do not have the exact numbers. Therefore, I will come back to the Deputy with that information.
That is extraordinary.
This is Deputy Coonan's priority question.
It is not extraordinary; it is perfectly understandable.
It is extraordinary because it is taxpayers' money. Tens of millions of euro has been spent on that infrastructure and the Minister does not even know the number of MANs that are not working.
Thirty of phase II MANs have been handed over to elnet, with another 12 to be handed over in December this year and then the handing across will be completed——
The Minister has abandoned the policy altogether.
Allow the Minister to answer the question.
——in the quarter to 2010.
In regard to the comments about neglecting north Tipperary, we invested some €80 million in the national broadband scheme to do the exact opposite of what the Deputy has said, namely, to make sure there is coverage across the country. There are some 50 electoral districts in Tipperary, which are covered by the national broadband scheme to make sure that services are delivered that would not be provided by the market.
When will that happen?
We have set up and designed the schools scheme — the 100 megabits per second broadband to which I referred — with the purpose of ensuring that where the market has not delivered we will intervene and put high speed broadband networks in place, which would not only connect our schools but would make it easier to connect the other businesses in the same area. The 78 initial schools in the school scheme——
How many of those are in south Tipperary?
——will be connected by April 2010. There are a range of State initiatives that have been made in terms of the MANs, the schools programme and national broadband scheme. We have not finished there, we have given a commitment in the new programme for Government to bring that high speed system to every secondary school by 2012.
We will continue to evolve the MANs system because it is starting to work. It is a long-term investment that will take time to light up but it is the right investment. We are seeing that as more and more companies start to use it.
I do not doubt the Minister's personal commitment, but the reality is that broadband is not freely available in rural Ireland. When I speak about rural Ireland, I am talking about provincial towns like Naas or Nenagh. Many people do not have access to broadband. We want a definite timeframe for its delivery and a commitment to do so by the Government and Minister. The Minister has demonstrated a lack of commitment and interest. He does not even know what networks are working and what ones are not working. We want a broadband connection across rural Ireland and the Minister's commitment to deliver that. Time is running for the Minister as well.
The national broadband scheme is working. It is delivering services to areas week by week that would not otherwise have had coverage. We will go further than that. My officials are in Brussels today with the European Commission to work through arrangements as to how we will go beyond the national broadband scheme to provide that any further houses that cannot be covered for local reasons are covered by way of European support under the stimulus package to ensure that every house will have access to broadband. We are at the point where 65% plus of our houses have broadband connection. Some 70% of households have a computer. We must develop this technology in our schools, health system and businesses so that it becomes commonplace. However, to allow this to take place one must ensure there is ubiquitous coverage. That is why my Department entered into very complex and detailed contractual arrangements with 3 Ireland to provide these services and that is why we have reverted to the European Commission so that we can go further. We are determined to cover every house in the country. Having done so we will continue to work to roll out broadband services.
