Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
147. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the degree to which the programme for the roll-out of broadband throughout the country continues in such a way as to ensure that all areas have access to modern high-speed broadband, in order to facilitate education and industry to the greatest possible extent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42068/23]
View answer148. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which efforts continue to be made to identify areas where no broadband service exists, with a view to provision of same at the earliest possible date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42069/23]
View answer149. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications what further steps he can take to ensure the elimination of broadband blackspots in all areas throughout the country, with particular reference to those areas adjacent to but not receiving service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42070/23]
View answer150. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the extent to which he is satisfied regarding investment in broadband infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42071/23]
View answer151. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the steps he intends to take to ensure an acceleration of the national broadband programme, given the extent to which many customers feel neglected, particularly in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42072/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 147, 148, 149, 150 and 151 together.
In December 2022, my Department published Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy which supports the ambition outlined in the National Digital Strategy and sets out a number of ambitious targets, including that:
• all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028;
• all populated areas will be covered by 5G no later than 2030, and
• digital connectivity will be delivered to all schools and broadband connection points by 2023.
These targets will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and through the State investment in National Broadband Ireland (NBI).
Commercial operators’ fibre rollouts are progressing at pace. Open eir, as part of their IFN fibre programme currently rolling out nationwide, plan to connect over 1.9m premises to their commercial fibre network by 2026. Other commercial operators are also continuing to increase their network footprint right across the State, with SIRO recently reaching a milestone of enabling 520,000 premises for full fibre, and Virgin Media announcing plans to bring 2Gbps services to 345,000 premises through upgrade and expansion of their own network.
National Broadband Ireland (NBI) is currently rolling out of a high speed and future-proofed broadband network to primarily rural areas through its Contract with the Minister. The intervention area covers over 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 15th September 2023, 182,250 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. 53,695 premises are already connected to the NBP high-speed broadband network. In the Deputy’s own county of Kildare, over 4,000 homes and businesses have been passed by NBI and are available for immediate connection, with c. 1,260 of those now connected to the NBP State Intervention network.
My Department has engaged with NBII at every opportunity to explore options that might increase the pace of rollout. For example my Department has been working with Directors of Service and Broadband Officers from each of the 31 Local Authorities, the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), the County and City Management Agency (CCMA), the Road Management Office (RMO) and other Government Departments, where appropriate, to ensure that any possible barriers that might delay the rollout are addressed as soon as possible. Engagement with other bodies such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Rail and ComReg is also undertaken.
I understand that NBI are in regular discussions with eir, who are responsible for the remediation of eir poles, to increase the rate of pole replacement each month and eir have responded positively to these requests. NBII have also procured the necessary subcontactors, materials and equipment to support the programme into the foreseeable future to ensure there are no bottlenecks in the supply chain that could interfere with the rollout.
The network rollout for the NBP is divided into 227 Deployment Areas (DAs) across the country. These typically measure approximately 25km in radius and cover 96% of Ireland’s landmass. The network is specifically designed based on the NBI network coming from the eir exchanges or the metropolitan area networks (MANs) which allows NBI to reach every premises quickly.
Recent ComReg data shows that Quarter 2, 2023 saw a 7.4% increase in fibre broadband subscriptions compared to the first 3 months of the year, and a 33.7% increase when compared to Quarter 2 of 2022. This demonstrates that take-up of fibre connectivity for homes and businesses is increasing massively as it’s deployed to areas where it had previously been unavailable. The same ComReg data also indicates that c.40% of homes and business throughout the State now have access to gigabit services through either fibre or cable infrastructure and this will continue to increase month on month as operators continue to invest heavily in gigabit networks across the State placing Ireland at the forefront of Europe for access to gigabit broadband.
