Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 July 2017
1295. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his Department can speed up broadband in an area (details supplied) and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35715/17]
View answer1296. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will report on the broadband speeds in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35733/17]
View answer1300. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to provide broadband to an area (details supplied) in which a gap in service exists, and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35830/17]
View answer1302. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will examine the case of a company (details supplied) in County Kerry that cannot access fibre broadband, and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35914/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1295, 1296, 1300 and 1302 together.
The provision of telecommunications services is primarily 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).
Regulatory matters relating to the provision of services by operators, including any regulatory issues surrounding quality of service are the responsibility of ComReg. If, after having exhausted the service provider’s complaint handling procedures, a customer is not happy they may contact ComReg, on 1890 229 668; online at http://www.askcomreg.ie/ or by email at Consumerline@comreg.ie, for further assistance and guidance. As the body that issues licences/authorisations to broadband service providers including satellite, ComReg will investigate such complaints to ensure that the companies in question are delivering services in line with its licence/authorisation obligations.
The decision by Eir to invest in infrastructure to deploy high speed broadband services to an additional 300,000 premises in rural Ireland was taken on commercial grounds. Neither I nor the Department have a statutory authority to direct Eir in this regard. The Deputies are aware that the Government’s national broadband plan (NBP) will provide high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location - including those areas where commercial providers will not provide this service.
The addresses and businesses referred to in the questions will be provided with high speed broadband through the NBP State led intervention should such services not be provided to them by commercial operators. My Department wrote to the three bidders in the NBP procurement process on 20 June 2017 inviting them to submit their 'Detailed Solutions'. This is a significant milestone in the NBP procurement process. 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.
