Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
468. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding the national broadband plan; when an area (details supplied) will have full broadband cover; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3885/19]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan, NBP, aims to ensure high-speed broadband access to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State-led intervention.
The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. In 2012, fewer than 700,000, or 30% of all 2.3 million Irish premises had access to high-speed broadband. When this Government came into office, this had risen to 52%. Today, 74% of premises can access high-speed broadband.
The premises referred to by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan, NBP, High-Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at: www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State-led Intervention under the NBP. This intervention is the subject of an ongoing procurement process.
The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage. My priority is to bring the procurement process to a fair and impartial conclusion as quickly as possible, and I will bring a recommendation to Government in this regard in the coming weeks.
I note that there is some deployment of infrastructure by eir in the area of the premises referred to by the Deputy. This is part of that company’s ongoing rural fibre roll-out.
Eir’s rural investment in high-speed broadband is an entirely commercial undertaking, and not part of the planned State Intervention network. Although the deployment is monitored under the terms of a Commitment Agreement signed between the company and my Department, it is not funded by the State and it is not planned, designed or directed by my Department in any capacity. The selection of what premises are to be served under eir’s deployment is a commercial decision for that company. My Department has no statutory authority or function to intervene in the company’s commercial decisions, nor in any decisions relating to the roll-out and siting of infrastructure throughout Ireland by service providers operating in a liberalised market.
For those premises currently awaiting access to high-speed broadband, practical initiatives will continue to be addressed through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to address obstacles and improve connectivity in respect of existing and future mobile phone and broadband services.
Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through the Broadband Officers is continuing. These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities. The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements.
