Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 November 2004
136 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the level of broadband availability in the various towns and villages of County Monaghan; the timescale for completion of the adaptation of the various exchanges in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30557/04]
View answer137 Mr. Connolly asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the level of broadband availability in the various towns and villages of County Cavan; the timescale for completion of the adaptation of the various exchanges in the county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30558/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 137 together.
The provision of telecommunications services including broadband is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market, regulated by ComReg, the Commission for Communications Regulation. The Government set aside an indicative €200 million under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 for broadband infrastructure investment that will, in turn, enable the provision of broadband services regionally by the private sector.
Under my Department's regional broadband programme, metropolitan area fibre trunk networks, MANs, are being built in 26 towns and cities, in association with the local authorities. Cavan, Kingscourt, Monaghan and Carrickmacross are included in the current phase of the rollout. In the second phase, MANs will be built in a further 92 towns, including Clones, Castleblaney, Cootehill and Bailieborough. For smaller towns and rural communities, I have introduced the group broadband scheme, under which Government funding of up to 55% is available to assist the community to come together and, with the service providers, to obtain broadband for their area using the technology that best suits the location, such as wireless, satellite or fibre. The timescale for the adapting of telephone exchanges is a matter for Eircom.
My Department's website, www.broadband.gov.ie, gives full details of the companies offering broadband in all parts of the country. Full details of the regional broadband programme and the group broadband scheme can be found on my Department’s websites, www.dcmnr.gov.ie and www.gbs.ie.
