Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Human Rights Issues

Thomas Pringle

15. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contacts he has had with the British authorities in relation to the number of citizens being held in prison in Northern Ireland without being tried or charged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41179/13]

Passport Application Fees

Thomas Pringle

64. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the decreased cost in producing the new passports will result in a reduction in the cost for citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41180/13]

Taxi Regulation Review Report Implementation

Thomas Pringle

61. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will ensure that existing taxi and hackney licence holders can apply to provide the rural hackney service; if he will ensure that new licences will only be considered in the event of a failure to get enough applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41231/13]

Regional Road Network

Thomas Pringle

83. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide funding for bridge replacement on regional roads to support local and tourism infrastructure. [40889/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

434. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, the fixed wireless access technologies he intends to accept in principle as NGA; the nominal maximum service radius that he will attribute to each qualifying FWA technology; the contention rates that will apply; and if these contention rates will be hard set and guaranteed in the future. [40947/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

435. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, the mobile technologies he intends to accept in principle as NGA technologies; in the case of LTE advanced, the specific elements of the draft 3GPP standard that will be required to qualify; the provisioning requirements that will be required in the case of each mobile technology to qualify as NGA, including the maximum number of residences and businesses to be provisioned by a cell sector and the required amount of spectrum to be available per sector per provider in each of the relevant spectrum bands. [40948/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

436. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, and regarding mobile technologies that he might include, the requirements he deems necessary to ensure the required quality of service level to users at a fixed locations while serving other nomadic subscribers in the area of interest as required by the state aid guidelines; the nominal data service radius he intends to attribute to each qualifying mobile technology at 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz and 2100 Mhz; if he plans to carry out coverage modelling in respect of all qualifying mobile cell sectors; the way he intends to verify that mobile coverage; the way he intends to ensure that qualifying mobile services remain properly provisioned through time. [40949/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

437. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, the VDSL variants that will be accepted as NGA; if they will qualify in principle or qualify subject to individual line speed test; if the mapping will include tested eligibility or submitted coverage or service areas based on radius; and in the case of eligibility if he will outline the qualifying line test speed that will be accepted as NGA. [40950/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

438. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan in the case of service radius, the nominal speed that will be be attributed to each VDSL variant at 100 m, 200 m, 300 m, 400 m, 500 m, 600 m, 700 m, 800 m, 900 m,1000 m, 1100 m and 1200 m; if those are straight line distances or cable lengths; the factor that will be used to convert straight line distance to cable length for the purposes of mapping qualifying VDSL areas; and what is the nominal service radius beyond which each VDSL variant will no longer be accepted as sufficiently fast. [40951/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

439. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan and in relation to planned VDSL services, if vectoring or bonding are considered as qualifying planned investments and the assumptions that will be used regarding speed uplift to each VDSL variant, at 100 m, 200 m, 300 m, 400 m, 500 m, 600 m, 700 m, 800 m, 900 m,1000 m, 1100 m and 1200 m, due to vectoring and separately due to bonding; and the separate assumptions that have been made for card level and for system level vectoring. [40952/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

440. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, which fibre to the building and fibre to the kerb technologies will be mapped; and what will be the definition of deployment in relation to these technologies; if in-building or kerb-to-building cabling will count as additional infrastructure and if unlit deployments will qualify for inclusion. [40953/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

441. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, which fibre to the home technologies will be mapped; if unlit deployments qualify for inclusion; the requirements that will be in place regarding wholesale access in respect of planned FTTH investments and in view of the fact that a single FTTH infrastructure is more likely in rural areas if he will require multi-fibre P2P architectures for eligibility as planned investments as recommended by the State aid guidelines. [40954/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

442. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, which cable technologies will be mapped; and the requirements that will be put in place in respect of planned investments. [40955/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

443. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access and basic broadband maps being prepared for the national broadband plan, which mapping application software is being used; the radio wave propagation software that is being used; the source reference of the elevation data being used; if the elevation data includes structures and vegetation; and if providers who do not supply coverage data will have their service areas estimated or excluded from the map. [40956/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

444. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, the action he will take in respect of credible information from a member of the public regarding the non-availability or not-spot of an indicated current service at a specific location and if he intends to register, retain and publish such information from the public. [40957/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

445. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, if he intends to carry out field tests to verify the map; the methodology that will be employed in carrying out field tests; and if there are other means he intends to employ to verify the map. [40958/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

446. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan and in relation to the plausibility test for planned investments required by the EU state aid guidelines, the business case plausibility criteria that will be used to evaluate planned investments; the financial data that will be required from providers to provide assurance that the investments will in fact materialise; if a financial bond will be required to provide further assurance in that regard; and the way that bond would be calculated. [40959/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

447. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan, if he will confirm that 19 July 2013 is the final date for completion of planned investments to qualify for inclusion on the map; and the percentage of area of the planned investment that must be completed by 19 July 2013. [40960/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

448. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the next generation access map being prepared for the national broadband plan and in relation to the finalised intervention areas, if a grid, similar to the electoral division grid used in the national broadband scheme, will be used to delineate the boundaries of the identified intervention area; the type of grid to be used in the NBP such as ED, CSO small areas square blocks; the block size in the case of a block grid; and the percentage area of NGA cover in a grid element below which will trigger inclusion of that element in the intervention. [40961/13]

National Broadband Plan Implementation

Thomas Pringle

449. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources regarding the national broadband plan, if the NBP contractor will be contractually and financially enabled to step in to extend intervention coverage where planned private investments identified in the mapping exercise fail to materialise or are below the forecast quality in terms of performance or provisioning or are behind schedule; if similar remedies will be undertaken in the case of those excluded because of the vagaries of the grid system employed, or because of mapping errors; if a contingency fund will be available for this purpose; if he will require progress reviews of planned investments; and the intervals at which they will be carried out. [40962/13]