Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
150. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for an update on the National Broadband Plan rollout for County Meath up to the end of Q1 2023, including overall target, number of properties currently passed and connected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18760/23]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) state led intervention is being delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract, signed in November 2019 and which came into effect in January 2020, 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 over 560,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools.
I am advised by NBI that, as of 31 March 2023, 119,231 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. 33,354 premises are already connected to the NBP high-speed broadband network. As of 31 March, 1,518 premises in County Meath are passed with a high-speed fibre broadband network and are available for immediate connection with 202 connections pending and 11 connections completed. NBI further advise that by 31 May they expect 2,900 premises to be passed in County Meath.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Meath can be monitored via nbi.ie/reps. A county update can be selected to provide the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed and connected to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
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 31st March 2023, 882 SCP sites (282 Broadband Connection Points, which are publicly accessible sites, and 589 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 publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. In County Meath 15 BCPs have been installed. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-map/.
In County Meath 23 schools have been installed 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/.
