I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 72 and 259 together.
The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market under the regulation of ComReg. In its report, Ireland's Broadband Future, published in December 2003, the Information Society Commission concluded that the market has failed to respond to the demand for broadband connectivity and that there is a proven need for Government intervention to accelerate the provision of infrastructure and the driving of demand.
In December last I announced my Department's broadband action plan, to which I referred earlier. It will result in broadband connectivity being rolled out to 90 towns with a population of 1,500 and over, using community broadband exchanges and strategic fibre. A spend of €35 million each year from now until 2007 has been committed to the broadband action plan.
I also referred to the group broadband scheme which I launched last March and which will allow smaller communities to pool their requirements and obtain broadband connectivity from a range of service providers.
The regional connectivity agreements my Department negotiated with Esat BT and the ESB at prices as low as one eighth of what they had been, mean all areas of the country will benefit from a low-cost backhaul.
The broadband for schools programme will bring connectivity to all 4,100 primary, second level and special needs schools. I am also aware of recent initiatives in the private sector in this respect. As a result of the £77 million investment by the Government in 1999 with Global Crossing, Ireland now heads the OECD league in international connectivity to more than 50 cities in Europe, America and the Far East. The significant reduction in voice and data communications costs to and from Ireland and the allied construction of world class data centres have been instrumental in attracting a number of major companies in the information and communications technology sector to locate their European operations in Ireland.
Internet penetration rates in Ireland are increasing more quickly than in any other European country. In the past 12 months the number of DSL customers has risen from 1,000 to 45,000, with a further 60,000 customers using flat rate Internet access and more than 1,000 using high speed corporate lines. These figures continue to increase dramatically, with upwards of 1,000 new customers being added each week, particularly as a result of the free offers for the summer period by the main service providers. The recent free trial introductory offers announced by Eircom and Esat BT and the entry of NTL into the broadband market are a welcome indication of the increasing interest in broadband as a result of lower prices and greater consumer choice.
Full details of my Department's broadband programmes can be found on the websites, www.dcmnr.gov.ie and www.gbs.ie. My Department will continue to promote the broadband agenda with the aim of providing world class broadband infrastructure in all areas of the country. The continuing aim of the Government is to place Ireland in the top 10% of OECD countries for broadband connectivity within three years.