Anne Rabbitte
Ceist:210. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the roll-out of broadband to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3913/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 29 January 2019
Ceisteanna (210)
Freagraí scríofa
Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme, the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary and post-primary schools, and some 98% of schools are included in this scheme. All post-primary schools and some special schools are now included in the 100 Mbps programme.
The policy of my Department is to offer the best quality connectivity to all schools in line with the technical solutions available in the market and financial constraints. Broadband capacity can vary due to geographical location and local infrastructure, and thus impact on the service that can be provided.
The school referred to by the Deputy is in the National Broadband Plan intervention area and is currently on a 12 Mbp/s wireless connection through the Schools Broadband Access Programme. The school is in year three of a three-year service agreement. When this contract has expired toward the end of 2019, the school will be retendered to the Departments' framework of suppliers, and upgraded to a higher speed if possible.
Under the current primary schools programme, the Department continually reviews the availability of services and upgrades schools where the opportunity arises, in line with contractual and budgetary requirements. A recent draw-down from the Framework of Providers of Broadband Services saw some 1,400 primary schools awarded download speeds of 30 Mbps or greater (the baseline download speed required under the National Broadband Plan). Those schools have now been upgraded to that connectivity. This represents more than one third of all primary schools. This is a significant improvement over recent years, given that fewer than 100 primary schools were on those speeds in 2012. Further schools are likely to be upgraded to those speeds in 2019, through EIR's 300K Rural Deployment commitment.
The need to improve broadband connectivity to primary schools is recognised in the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, and as noted, access to high-speed broadband is one of the indicators identified in the Digital Strategy Action Plan. An interdepartmental working group has been established to determine how best to address broadband connectivity to primary schools in collaboration with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in the context of the National Broadband Plan and the Intervention Strategy, and proposed industry provision.