Written Answers Nos. 313-323
313. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 161 of 19 October 2016, his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4810/17]
View answerAs I stated in reply to Question No. 161 of 19 October 2016, the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business 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.
The Broadband Intervention strategy sets out a detailed service specification including a requirement that the State-funded network must
- be capable of delivering high-quality, high speed broadband of at least 30 megabits per second download and 6 megabits per second upload to all citizens.
- be capable of providing for higher performance in the future so as to keep pace with consumer demand.
- ensure the availability of high quality wholesale services to allow retail competition to develop.
The Plan envisages public investment in the capital costs of building the necessary infrastructure to support high-quality affordable broadband services similar to those already available in cities and towns.
Insofar as the issue of cost is concerned, this network will be made available to service providers on a wholesale basis and it is the intention that the wholesale prices for comparable services within the intervention area will be no more than the average published wholesale prices that prevail in other more competitive areas of the country or the European Union or, in the absence of such published prices, prices already set or approved by the Regulator, ComReg.
314. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the potential investment projects his Department put forward to the Department of Finance task force report for the European Fund for Strategic Investments. [4863/17]
View answerThe information sought is being complied and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to the above mentioned Parliamentary Question (PQ) which was put down by you for written answer on Wednesday, 1st February 2017. In the response given to you it was indicated that my Department was compiling the information sought which would be forwarded to you when available. I am now in a position to provide you with a substantive response to the PQ.
The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is a joint initiative of the EIB Group and the European Commission, aimed at mobilising private financing for strategic investments, mainly through loan funding. The task force you refer to is the EU Commission - European Investment Bank - Member State Special Taskforce which was formed to develop an investment project pipeline for the EU and which was carrying out a scoping exercise of possible projects that might be suitable for EFSI.
The following table details projects which my Department contributed for inclusion in Ireland's project list as submitted to the task force.
|
Sector |
Project Name |
Description |
|
Energy Union |
Energy Efficiency Fund |
Public Sector Buildings: Increasing energy efficiency in the public sector is a key element of EU energy policy and will play a major role in delivering on the 2020 and 2030 energy and climate change targets. There are approximately 10,000 buildings in the Irish public sector, with a total annual energy cost of €600m. This investment would reduce Ireland’s energy consumption, help to meet our legally binding climate targets and replace imported fossil fuels. |
|
Energy Union |
Energy Efficiency Fund |
Private Sector Poverty Retrofit Programme: Improve energy efficiency, reduce energy use and make energy more affordable. More than 400,000 homes in Ireland are in receipt of income support payments due to being in energy poverty. A large scale deep renovation programme would lower national energy consumption, reduce energy poverty and the need for ongoing income supports and boost domestic employment. |
The link below gives a list of all the Irish projects submitted to the Taskforce in November 2014 (see document “Project List – Part 1”), as part of the published report of the Taskforce
http://www.eib.org/infocentre/press/releases/all/2014/2014-277-investment-offensive-for-europe-eu-task-force-identifies-2-000-potential-projects-worth-eur1-3-trillion.htm .
I trust this clarifies the position for you.
315. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason a company (details supplied) was allowed to roll out fibre broadband at Dundrum, County Tipperary, and not at the village of Knockavilla, a couple of miles away, despite delivering broadband to a hotel at a point on the road equidistant from both villages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4896/17]
View answerThe provision of telecommunications services, including broadband services, is a matter for the service providers concerned who operate in a fully liberalised market, regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). I do not have a statutory authority to require commercial companies to rollout services to particular locations.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed broadband services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated.
A key principle of the NBP is to support and stimulate commercial investment through policy and regulatory measures. Commercial investment since the publication of the NBP has considerably exceeded expectations. To date, the commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2.5bn in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services.
Currently, approximately 1.4m premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband from commercial service providers and investment by the telecoms sector is continuing to expand this footprint.
The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the current extent of the State Intervention area:
- The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services,
- The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention, which are the subject of the current procurement process. It is intended that premises within this area will have access to services of at least 30 megabits per second when the procurement process is completed and the network rolled out.
The map currently indicates that Dundrum falls within a BLUE area and is therefore expected to be covered by commercial operators and that Knockavilla falls within an AMBER area and will therefore be included in the State Intervention procurement process under the NBP. Individuals can check whether their premise is in a BLUE or an AMBER area by accessing the High Speed Broadband Map and entering their Eircode.
The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county.
My Department is actively monitoring the commercial deployment plans in the BLUE areas to ensure that all premises can get access to services. In this regard, direct feedback from consumers is important and if customers in these areas cannot access high speed broadband services, I would encourage them to contact my Department directly at broadband@dccae.gov.ie, quoting their address and Eircode and giving details of providers they have contacted with a view to obtaining services.
A formal procurement process is in train to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area. The Department will shortly update the High Speed Broadband map and finalise this Intervention Area for bidders, taking into account any industry investments that have not materialised in Blue areas, along with new industry investments and concrete, commitments by industry for further new investments within the proposed State Intervention Area.
The procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years. Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and the three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. This provides for a future proofed solution for the 25 years of the contract and beyond. A fibre-to-the-home solution means that householders and businesses may get speeds not just of 30 Megabits per second but much higher, potentially up to 1000 Megabits per second.
The timeframe for the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team and bidders, during the procurement process. During the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated a 3-5 year timeline to rollout a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best rollout strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and/or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network rollout plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed rollout plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the rollout of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
In a further positive initiative, last July, I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce with my colleague Minister Humphreys to address immediate issues in relation to the quality of mobile phone and broadband coverage. The Taskforce report which was published in December, is available at the following link:http://www.dccae.gov.ie/communications/en-ie/Pages/Publication/Report-of-the-Mobile-Phone-and-Broadband-Taskforce.aspx.
I have signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed with the allocation of spectrum in the 3.6GHz band in early 2017. This will provide an 86% increase in total spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless services. I have also secured €8m for RTE which will allow it to free up the 700MHz spectrum band, to provide enhanced mobile services.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks.
These investments should assist in significantly improving the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country, including County Tipperary.
316. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason he is allowing broadband providers to roll out fibre broadband to areas of rural Tipperary while leaving out connected rural townlands and villages (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4897/17]
View answerThe Government considers the NBP to be one of the most significant investments in rural Ireland for decades, and one which will transform society, akin to rural electrification in the last century. The strategy for broadband rollout, the National Broadband Plan (NBP), aims to deliver high speed broadband services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and a State Intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated.
It is the combination of the rollout of high speed broadband by commercial operators, on a commercial basis, and the State Intervention that will result in 100% broadband rollout.
A key principle of the NBP is to support and stimulate commercial investment through policy and regulatory measures. Commercial investment since the publication of the NBP has considerably exceeded expectations. To date, the commercial telecommunications sector has invested over €2.5 billion in upgrading and modernising networks which support the provision of high speed broadband and mobile telecoms services.
Currently, approximately 1.4m premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband from commercial service providers and investment by the telecoms sector is continuing to expand this footprint. The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the current extent of the State Intervention area:
- The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services;
- The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention, which are the subject of the current procurement process. It is intended that premises within this area will have access to services of at least 30 megabits per second when the procurement process is completed and the network rolled out.
The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county. The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county.
My Department is actively monitoring the commercial deployment plans in the BLUE areas to ensure that all premises can get access to services. In this regard, direct feedback from consumers is important and if customers in these areas cannot access high speed broadband services, I would encourage them to contact my Department directly at broadband@dccae.gov.ie, quoting their address and Eircode and giving details of providers they have contacted with a view to obtaining services.
A formal procurement process is now in train to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area including over 41,000 premises in Co. Tipperary, covering 100,000 km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland.
The Department will shortly update the High Speed Broadband map and finalise this Intervention Area for bidders, taking into account any industry investments that have not materialised in Blue areas, along with new industry investments and concrete, commitments by industry for further new investments within the proposed State Intervention Area.
The procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years. Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and the three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. This provides for a future proofed solution for the 25 years of the contract and beyond. A fibre-to-the-home solution means that householders and businesses may get speeds not just of 30 Megabits per second but much higher, potentially up to 1000 Megabits per second.
The timeframe for the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team and bidders, during the procurement process. During the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated a 3-5 year timeline to rollout a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best rollout strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and/or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network rollout plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed rollout plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the rollout of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
In a further positive initiative, last July, I established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce with my colleague Minister Humphreys to address immediate issues in relation to the quality of mobile phone and broadband coverage. The Taskforce report is available at the following link: http://www.dccae.gov.ie/communications/en-ie/Pages/Publication/Report-of-the-Mobile-Phone-and-Broadband-Taskforce.aspx.
I have signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed with an early 2017 auction of the 3.6GHz radio spectrum band, to provide an 86% increase in total spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless services. I have also secured €8m for RTE which will allow it to free up the 700MHz spectrum band, to provide enhanced mobile services.
In the meantime, my Department continues to liaise closely with industry and relevant other Departments and agencies to assist in the commercial deployment of telecommunications networks.
These investments should assist in significantly improving the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
317. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the final costs to the Exchequer of each commission of investigation that has been completed to date in his Department, in addition to the estimated costs to date of ongoing commissions of investigation. [5302/17]
View answerAs I stated in reply to Question No. 233 of 18 January, there are no ongoing Commissions of Investigation in my Department, nor has there been any Commission of Investigation established by my Department since 2011.
318. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans to amend the regulations requiring persons to wear life jackets at all times while on board pleasure craft; his views on whether age restrictions should apply or not; his further views on whether it should be mandatory to undertake water safety courses in advance of taking to inland or sea waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4757/17]
View answer325. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the regulations on the use of life jackets on pleasure craft for those persons over 16 years of age; his plans for improving knowledge of water saving for those persons using pleasure craft; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4822/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 318 and 325 together.
The requirements in relation to the wearing of Personal Flotation Devices (lifejackets/buoyancy aids) on pleasure craft are set out in the Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 921 of 2005), as amended by S.I. No. 349 of 2012.
I refer the Deputies to my response to Questions Nos. 696 and 697 which were answered on 31 January 2017. The position is unchanged.
Irish Water Safety, which falls under the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, as the statutory body established to promote water safety in Ireland, is also actively involved in educating people in water safety best practices.
319. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the routes that have been targeted for closure within the Expressway bus service, following the CEO of Bus Éireann confirming to the Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport recently that particular routes have been identified; if his attention has been drawn to the routes identified; if he will request and publish same as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4702/17]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Bus Éireann is developing plans to address its financial position. The Company is currently loss-making and these losses are not sustainable. The Company's difficulties stem from its commercial Expressway services which are not subsidised by the taxpayer and operate in competition with other non-subsidised operators. In my recent meetings with the Chair of the Company, he has updated me on the Board's resolve to address the situation and to restore the company to a sustainable position.
In his appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee the Acting CEO indicated that route configurations were under consideration as part of the range of measures the Company believes are necessary to introduce in order to address its financial challenges. The detail of those routes and the measures proposed are a matter for the Company to develop, and to engage upon with the National Transport Authority (NTA).
As the Deputy will recall, I recently met with the NTA who outlined to me their powers and responsibilities in relation to the provision of public transport services. I was assured by the NTA that it will work with local communities to maintain an appropriate level of public transport connectivity in the event of any reconfiguration of existing Expressway services.
320. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 536 of 22 November 2016, the progress with regard to the building of a stadium (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4739/17]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, officials from my Department have engaged with Finn Harps and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) on this matter. I am advised that my Department's technical advisor has just completed his consideration of the updated quantity surveyor's report which details the estimated cost of completing the project as the club envisages.
My officials have recently been in touch with the club to arrange a follow up meeting with Finn Harps and the FAI to understand suggestions Finn Harps and the FAI may have for a way forward for the project. It is hoped that this meeting will take place this month.
321. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to difficulties taxi drivers are experiencing in renewing their licences in certain circumstances (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4740/17]
View answerThe regulation of the small public service vehicle (SPSV) industry, including issues pertaining to vehicle standards, is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. I have therefore referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply to him. The Deputy should please advise my private office if he does not receive a response within ten working days.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
322. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the future plans for the 111A bus route from Cavan to Delvin. [4762/17]
View answer323. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will implement a service to link the 111 route and 111A route. [4763/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 322 and 323 together.
The issues raised are a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with the transport operator and I have forwarded the Deputy's questions to the NTA for direct reply.
Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
