Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 September 2012
70. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the company that has the contract in respect of internet and broadband support for primary schools in counties Wicklow and Carlow; the details of this contract, including the costs and if the company is providing a satisfactory service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39522/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Schools Broadband Access Programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all primary schools that wish to avail of this service. All contracts under the Schools Broadband Access Programme were recently re-tendered. As a result of this the number of service providers has been expanded from 6 to 13 and this should lead to improvements in the quality of services available to schools. These contracts were signed in the last two months and the migration of schools onto the new services is currently underway.
Schools in the Wicklow and Carlow area will be migrating to new suppliers in the coming weeks. In awarding services to primary schools and in in line with EU procurement rules, the aim was to maximise bandwidth provided to schools within the current budget. All service providers are required to sign up to a service level agreement to ensure that their performance under the contract is satisfactory, where they fail to meet the service level agreement credits may be sought or the Minsiter may exercise the right to remove schools from a service provider and re-award to another service provider.
