Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 October 2014
14. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 40 of 11 March 2014, the progress to date with State-led investment part of the national broadband plan; when he expects the mapping process to be concluded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40358/14]
View answerThrough the National Broadband Plan the Government aims to ensure that high speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses in Ireland, through a combination of commercial investment and a State-led intervention. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5bn in network upgrades and at least 1.6m of the 2.3m addresses in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next number of years.
Under EU State Aid Guidelines Member States cannot intervene where commercial investors have plans to roll out services. My Department is currently finalising a national map which will identify those areas that require a State intervention. An initial examination has already identified a significant number of areas that will require State intervention.
As part of the mapping process, a stakeholder consultation was launched in June. 32 submissions have been received and non-commercially sensitive versions of these responses were published by my Department earlier today.
I expect to publish the map shortly. Those accessing this map will be able to identify their own house or premises and see whether it is in the proposed intervention footprint. Where a house or premises is not in the proposed intervention area it means it either currently, or will in the near future, have access to commercial high speed broadband services. The map will be subject to change as new information becomes available or commercial investments are announced in the future.
A further public consultation on a detailed intervention strategy will be launched in mid-2015. My Department is also working closely with the European Commission with a view to obtaining State Aid clearance for the programme.
A detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select a potential preferred bidder or bidders towards the end of 2015.
This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government. It aims to conclusively address current connectivity challenges in Ireland. Our goal is to ensure that quality broadband services are available to all citizens regardless of where they are located.
