Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 October 2019
512. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a new access network will impact on the subsidy provided for the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43542/19]
View answerUnder EU State Aid guidelines, it is a requirement that Member States thoroughly evaluate commercial plans so as to ensure that State Aid is confined to areas of well-defined market failure, where commercial investment is unlikely to occur in the near future. My Department recently consulted publicly to close the National Broadband Plan ongoing mapping exercise, seeking submissions from operators who wish to have their existing high speed broadband networks, or who have developed plans to invest in high speed broadband networks over the next 7 years, to be included on the Department’s High Speed Broadband Map (available at www.broadband.gov.ie). Over 180 submissions have been received from a variety of stakeholders, including 30 from large and small telecoms operators, with the remainder from local authority broadband officers and members of the public. Operator submissions will be assessed against the Department’s published assessment criteria. Operators submitting planned investments were required to sign a declaration that they would enter into a Commitment Agreement with the Department if their plans satisfied the assessment criteria and were accepted by the Department as being concrete and credible.
The findings of the consultation will ensure that the State Intervention Area is up to date and reflects commercial operators’ plans and the responses from householders and businesses, in advance of a contract being signed later this year. This will be an important element in concluding the State Aid approval process with the EU Commission.
