Vol. 515 No. 1
90 Ms Coughlan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the action, if any, she will take to ensure the availability of ISDN lines in rural areas in County Donegal, particularly in the Gaeltacht areas of Carrick, Kilcan and Glencolmcille; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5394/00]
The provision of telecommunications services such as ISDN is primarily a matter for the commercial operators in the telecommunications market.
The decision to liberalise the telecommunications market in December 1998 was taken in order to increase competition, investment and the range of cost competitive services available to residential and business users. As the market may not always cater adequately for more remote or underdeveloped areas, my Department secured funding for broadband telecommunications infrastructure projects from the EU under the economic infrastructure operational and INTERREG programmes.
Following the receipt of funding under the INTERREG programme, Eircom is currently installing a 95 km high capacity fibre optic cable along the west coast of Donegal. This cable will run from Bunbeg to Donegal town and from Dunfanaghy to Falcarragh. The amount of investment in this project is 4.737 million euros and the amount of grant aid to Eircom is 2.3685 million euros.
A further £120 million has been provided to be spent on communications and e-commerce infrastructure in the National Development Plan, 2000-2006. There will be a strong regional emphasis in this expenditure.
