Communications Committee discuss imperative for national broadband delivery

26 September 2012 

The Committee met separately with senior officials from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the CEO of e|net, the company which manages Ireland’s fibre network.

Aidan Dunning, Secretary General, introduced his Department's Delivering a Connected Society - A National Broadband Plan for Ireland. The plan commits to 70 -100 Mbps broadband being available to more than half the population by 2015, 40 Mbps available to as much as 35 percent of the population in smaller towns and villages and a minimum of 30 Mbps available to every remaining home in the country, no matter how remote.

Chairman of the Committee Tom Hayes TD says: “The Committee today heard that Ireland ranks mid-table among the EU’s 27 Member States on the delivery of broadband. There is a direct correlation between high speed broadband and indigenous and foreign direct investment and it is imperative that Ireland moves towards the top of the table in the coming years, despite the barriers posed by our relatively dispersed population.

\"While the major urban centres are broadly speaking well connected, challenges remain in delivering high quality broadband for smaller urban and rural areas where half our citizens reside.  The Committee was assured that the Plan will provide the framework necessary to ensure the delivery of high quality, high speed broadband infrastructure to all homes and business across the country.

“As well as the economic benefits, the Committee heard of the social and environmental advantages of broadband for communities throughout Ireland, such as enhancing access to government services such as education and health and curbing greenhouse gases by using the latest communication technologies as a substitute for travel.”

The meeting was also addressed by Conal Henry, CEO of e|net, the company which manages the national fibre network, providing wholesale services to telecom operators.

Deputy Hayes continues: “Mr Henry delivered a persuasive address on the power of broadband in economic development in the coming decades. We note Mr Henry’s concern that small sized towns comprising about 20 percent of the population might get left behind without the appropriate policy intervention. Indeed A number of Committee Members made the point that considerable pockets of industries existed across such towns and are heavily dependent on high speed broadband. The Committee takes on board the view that, just as canals, railways and electricity networks were economic drivers in past centuries, high quality broadband would be a central for economic growth in the 21st century. ”

ENDS

For further information please contact:   
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +353 1 618 4484
M: +353  87 694 9926

Committee Membership

Deputies
Michael Colreavy,  Sinn Féin
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
 Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin
 Terence Flanagan, Fine Gael
 Tom Fleming, Independent
 Noel Harrington, Fine Gael
 Tom Hayes, Fine Gael (Chairman)
 Colm Keaveney, Fine Gael
 Seán Kenny, Labour
 Mattie McGrath, Independent
Michael Moynihan, Fianna Fáil
 Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael
 John O’Mahony, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
 Ann Phelan, Labour
 Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
 
Senators
 Terry Brennan
 Sean D. Barrett
 Eamonn Coghlan
 Paschal Mooney
 Ned O’Sullivan
 John Whelan