Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 June 2021
82. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the estimated number of schools that will be connected under the National Broadband Plan by the end of 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29382/21]
View answerMy Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the NBP Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the National Broadband Plan. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by end-2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of end-2026. The list of all primary schools to be connected, broken down by County, is available on the website of National Broadband Ireland (NBI).
Currently 114 primary schools have been installed with the necessary infrastructure by NBI. Connectivity is delivered through retail service providers as per arrangements with the Department of Education. NBI expect to make substantial progress through the remainder of this year with a total estimate of 250 schools getting high-speed connectivity by end 2021 and the final target of 679 schools being achieved by end 2022.
