I propose to take Questions Nos. 192 and 193 together. Strategic Connection Points (SCPs) are a key element of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. My Department has now prioritised primary schools with no high speed broadband and continues to work with the Department of Education in this regard. Government and NBI have agreed to accelerate the rollout of high-speed broadband to 679 schools across the State. This will ensure that by early next year all schools across the State will have the necessary infrastructure to carry out their critical day to day educational activities unimpeded by poor broadband. While all schools in the NBP Intervention Area will be passed by the fibre network over the course of the seven year build programme, the aim of the SCP project was to use alternative technologies to ensure a high speed broadband service of at least 150Mbps to every primary school in the Intervention Area by early in 2023 at the latest. According to the Department of Education, most of these schools being connected through the NBP have never had a broadband service or have had a very poor broadband service to date. The NBP schools project will ensure that the children attending primary schools in rural Ireland are afforded the same education and learning opportunities as children attending primary schools in urban areas. As of 2 December 2022, 514 schools have been installed by NBI, and 29 have been installed by other operators, as agreed with the Department of Education. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
