Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 June 2022
191. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress that has been made to date in the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan in County Cavan; the progress that is expected in improving access to broadband in this area in 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28773/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra192. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the progress that has been made to date in the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan in County Monaghan; the progress that is expected in improving access to broadband in this area in 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28774/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 191 and 192 together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in almost 560,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools.
I am advised by NBI that as of 20 May 2022, over 327,600 premises have now been surveyed and over 175,300 premises are under construction or complete across 26 counties, demonstrating that the project is reaching scale. I am further advised that almost 67,700 premises are now available to order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 23 counties, with over 56,600 premises passed across 22 counties and available for immediate connection.
NBI has advised that there are over 3,600 premises passed and available for connection in County Cavan and almost 4,400 premises passed in County Monaghan. Further details are available on specific areas within Cavan and Monaghan through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence.
NBI has made recent improvements to its website to enhance the provision of information to Oireachtas members. NBI has now completed a suite of changes, creating a portal that will serve as a means for Oireachtas members to proactively search for information relevant to their county/local area. The portal provides an up-to-date picture of NBI’s deployment schedule across the 227 Deployment Areas in all 26 counties, including the status of the Deployment Areas located in Cavan and Monaghan. A particular county can be selected to view an update of the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. The dedicated webpage can be accessed here: www.nbi.ie. NBI also has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.
Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. As of 20 May 2022, 584 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high-speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. In County Cavan, 12 BCP sites have been installed to date, with 15 sites installed in County Monaghan. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/broadband-connection-points/.
In County Cavan, some 13 schools have been installed by NBI to date for educational access, with 11 now installed in County Monaghan. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
My Department has worked with NBI to agree an Updated Interim Remedial Plan (UIRP) which recalibrated the targets for 2022 to take account of the knock on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and other delays to the programme. The revised target is 102,000 premises passed by the end of January 2023 (cumulative). It remains the ambition of the Government to roll out the National Broadband Plan State led intervention as quickly as possible in all areas, including Cavan and Monaghan, and to achieve this NBI will continue its focus on addressing the delays which have arisen and ensuring that the build programme gets back on track and is building momentum month on month.
