Holly Cairns
Question:126. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the status of the roll-out of high speed rural broadband in Cork South West. [28395/22]
View answerThursday, 2 June 2022
Questions (126, 135)
Aindrias Moynihan
Question:135. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the engagements that he has had with an organisation (details supplied) to expedite the roll-out of broadband in mid-Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28338/22]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 135 together.
I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that as of 20 May 2022, over 327,600 premises have now been surveyed and over 175,300 premises are under construction or complete across 26 counties, demonstrating that the project is reaching scale. I am further advised that almost 67,700 premises are now available to order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 23 counties, with over 56,600 premises passed across 22 counties and available for immediate connection.
NBI has advised that almost 5,800 premises have been passed in County Cork. Further details are available on specific areas within County Cork 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.
NBI has made recent improvements to its website to enhance the provision of information to Oireachtas members. NBI has now completed a suite of changes, creating a portal that will serve as a means for Oireachtas members to proactively search for information relevant to their county/local area. The portal provides an up-to-date picture of NBI’s deployment schedule across the 227 Deployment Areas (DAs) in all 26 counties. A particular county can be selected to view an update of the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. The dedicated webpage can be accessed here: www.nbi.ie/reps. 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 20 May, 584 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 school BCPs. In County Cork 23 BCP’s have been installed to date. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.
In County Cork 45 schools have been installed by NBI to date. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
With regard to engagement with NBI, my Department as the contracting authority manages all of the elements of contract governance and engages with NBI on an ongoing basis across all elements of the programme to deliver the new high speed broadband network. It remains the ambition of the Government to rollout the National Broadband Plan State led intervention as quickly as possible in all areas, including mid and South West Cork, and to achieve this NBI will continue its focus on addressing the delays which have arisen and ensuring that the build programme gets back on track and is building momentum month on month.