Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
86. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she is satisfied, under Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, specifically in respect of digital, that every household that wishes to have an adequate internet connection, has one. [19389/23]
View answerOur Rural Future is the whole of Government policy for sustainable rural development in Ireland. It was published in March 2021 and is the most ambitious rural development policy for Ireland in decades. It contains more than 150 measures intended to support the post–covid recovery in the short-term, economic and social development in the longer terms as well as environmental and cultural well-being.
Optimising digital connectivity in rural areas is a key focus of the strategy. Fundamental to this is the commitment to deliver high-speed broadband to every part of the country, enabling rural people to have equality of access to remote working opportunities and to online information, resources and services such as education and personalised health care.
My colleague, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, and National Broadband Ireland (NBI), are responsible for the delivery of the National Broadband Plan, which will deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland.
The latest statistics from NBI confirms that more than 146,000 premises are now able to order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 26 counties, with 131,000 premises passed across 26 counties which are available for immediate connection. NBI is committed to delivering a cumulative target of 185,000 premises passed by the end of January 2024.
The National Broadband Plan is the largest infrastructural project being undertaken by the State since rural electrification. It is, by its very nature, a long-term project that will extend beyond the conclusion of the Our Rural Future programme in 2025. I am confident that the project will continue to deliver very real benefits across rural Ireland as roll-out continues to progress.
