Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 January 2023
79. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when high-speed broadband will be available in the Mountrice area of County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63715/22]
View answer80. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications when high-speed broadband will be available in the Shindala area of Rathangan, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63716/22]
View answer81. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will report on the progress being made with the roll-out of high-speed broadband to schools in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63717/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 79 to 81, inclusive, together.
The High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie, shows the areas included in the National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led intervention as well as areas targeted by commercial operators. The map is colour coded and searchable by address and Eircode. Premises in the AMBER area will be provided with high-speed broadband through the State led Interventio. The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The areas referred to in the Question are located in a combination of AMBER and BLUE on the high-speed broadband map.
I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 6 January 2023, construction is underway across 26 counties. Over 117,900 premises can order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 26 counties, with over 109,200 premises passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. In County Kildare, NBI has advised that 2510 premises are passed with a highspeed fibre broadband network and available for immediate connection.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Kildare 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 a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries. NBI has also made recent improvements to their website to enhance the provision of information to Oireachtas members and allow 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. The dedicated webpage can be accessed here: www.nbi.ie
Strategic Connection Points (SCPs) 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 6 January 2023, 844 SCP sites (281 Broadband Connection Points, which are publicly accessible sites, and 563 schools) have been installed 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 BCPs and the Department of Education for school SCP’s. In County Kildare 3 BCP’s have been installed to date. Further details can be found at: nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.
In County Kildare 9 schools have been installed by NBI to date for educational access. 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/.
