Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 November 2015
213. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if funding is forthcoming from the European Union or if any other investment is being made in the delivery of broadband in all areas of County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41924/15]
View answerThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
On 29 September the Government published its 6 year Capital Plan, Building on Recovery, which included an allocation of €275m for the National Broadband Plan. This will provide the initial stimulus required to deliver the Government's intervention.
Funding of €75m is committed through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). State expenditure of €150m is required before the €75m under the European Regional Development Fund can be drawn down.
Because a competitive procurement process is anticipated, it would be neither advisable nor appropriate to speculate about the potential overall cost of the NBP at this stage. Ultimately, the outcome of the procurement process will determine the final cost of the intervention.
I hope to commence the procurement process before the end of this year. Progress on the project and the outcome of the procurement process will influence the quantum of exchequer funding that will be expended on the NBP in 2016.
The Government is determined to ensure that the network is built out as quickly as possible and engagement with industry stakeholders has indicated that this could be achieved within 3 to 5 years of the contract award. Our aim is to ensure that 85% of Ireland's premises have high speed broadband by 2018, with 100% coverage by 2020.
Under the NBP the Government has made significant commitments to ensure that all premises, irrespective of location, will have access to speeds of at least 30Mbps high-speed, high-quality future proofed broadband services by 2020 and the network will be designed to cater for future increased demand from consumers and business.
The combination of significant commercial investment plus the strong commitments for public funding for non-commercial areas will mean that Ireland's telecommunications and broadband networks will be among the best and most modern in the EU and beyond, capable of meeting both current and anticipated future growth in bandwidth demand.
I can confirm that next generation broadband services have been rolled out to over 45,000 premises to date in County Galway with a further 26,200 expected to be served by commercial investment based on existing plans. The remaining 62,500 premises in County Galway will be covered by further commercial investment or be the target for the proposed State intervention under the National Broadband Plan. The breakdown of premises covered, per townland, is available on the High Speed Broadband Map at www.broadband.gov.ie.
