Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 February 2021
55. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when works related to the fibre box will be completed near the railway gates at Cratloemoyle, County Clare; and when persons in homes nearby will be able to access fibre broadband (details supplied). [9841/21]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the over 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools. The deployment plan forecasts construction commenced in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years.
There are a total of 69,225 premises in County Clare of which 46,633 premises (67%) are served by commercial operators and 22,592 premises (33%) are in the Intervention Area.
I am advised by National Broadband Ireland that, as of 15 February 2021, over 178,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed. Some 3,556 premises have been surveyed in Co Clare including in the areas of Cratloe, Ballycannan, Ballyglas, Cloghrea, Kilkishen, Sixmilebridge, Kilmurry, Broadford and Clontra. NBI are currently undertaking pre build works in the area of Cratloe and anticipate that build works will be complete in the area later this year. Further details are available on specific areas within County Clare through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. I am advised that NBI is working to provide more detail on its website, with a rolling update on network build plans. NBI also has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 15 February, 274 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for schools. BCP sites connected in Clare are Cree Community Centre, Michael Cusack Visitor Centre and Loop Head Lighthouse. Further details can be found at https://nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.
Shragh, Ennistymon and Stonehall National Schools are connected as part of this initiative. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the NBP. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced in December which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026. Further details are available on the NBI website at https://nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
