Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 February 2025
148. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications for an update on the provision of high-speed fibre broadband for an estate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5824/25]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government – Securing Ireland’s Future, published in January 2025, sets a number of targets which include the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by 2026.
The area of Rosary Gardens, Library Road, Dún Laoghaire is in the BLUE area on the broadband map which is available on my Department's website www.gov.ie/en/publication/5634d-national-broadband-plan-map/.
The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services. My Department defines high-speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload.
The activities of commercial operators delivering high-speed broadband within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and my Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard.
There may be a choice of operators offering this service in any given area. Further information in this regard is available at www.comreg.ie/compare/#/services.
If a person lives in the BLUE area and after contacting their Retail Service Provider are told they cannot get access to greater than 30Mbps, they should raise a query via the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) webform at https://secure.dccae.gov.ie/forms/NBP-Customer-Service.aspx and the Department will escalate with the commercial operator to investigate this matter further.
As per records available, I understand that premises in the area in question can now order full fibre gigabit connection with speeds up to 2Gbps. This information and details of retail broadband providers who deliver broadband to premises in the blue area can be found on the Open eir website at https://open-eir.webflow.io/fibre/broadband-checker.
