Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with postcodes first. I will group the questions together, because that is probably the easiest way to proceed.

Deputy Dooley asked about the percentage of people who know their postcode. I do not have those figures available to me. Anecdotally from my own experience, and I am sure every member of the committee would find the same, people in rural areas in particular are now seeing the value of their postcodes since they have been available on Google maps and satellite systems. They no longer have to give directions. If they give their postcodes they can be inputted into the satellite navigation system.

As Members know, this is now available to the ambulance service in its centres so it can deploy ambulances and ensure that ambulances actually go to the correct properties. As I said to Deputy Dooley, townlands like Milltown are littered on over this country. People are in a panic when they have to give directions to make sure ambulances go to the correct locations. We have heard of numerous examples regarding ambulances, in particular in Kerry where there was some national publicity about ambulances that went to townlands in north Kerry when an emergency was in south Kerry. If people know their postcodes that will address that particular issue.

There has been an increased interest in postcodes. Since postcodes were launched in 2015, there have been €10 million look-ups and just short of 20,000 hits a day on the postcode finder. A direction has been issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Form to all Government Departments and agencies that when they are revising their data systems they make provision for postcodes. Some have done so already. The register of electors now contains postcodes, which makes it easier to identify individuals and families and access them in order to carry out physical visits.

It is catching on. Far more businesses are using postcodes and the second anniversary will occur mid-year. Members will see at that stage there are more contracts in regard to users of the service. Considering that this is a long game and is not supposed to have a very short impact, nonetheless it has already had a significant impact. It is dealing with issues that are affecting people such as directions, in particular emergency services.

Deputy Dooley asked me how one gets a postcode. First, data is collated by An Post which is sent to GeoDirectory, an agency of An Post which liaises directly with Eircode. I know from representations I have received as Minister that there seems to be a delay in the system. I met the new chief executive of GeoDirectory earlier today and raise the issue with him. I understand later this week there will be a meeting between GeoDirectory and Eircode to see whether they can resolve some of the outstanding issues. The Deputy is correct. There is frustration about the current system.

The national broadband plan has two aspects. One is the commercial aspect. Across Ireland, 1.4 million homes have been connected under the commercial aspect of the national broadband plan. Commercial companies are spending about €1.6 million per day rolling out a network as we speak. It involves fibre to homes and the cabinet, wireless and mobile broadband. The final cohort involves approximately 750,000 premises.

We conducted an analysis of urban areas where commercial operators said they would provide broadband commercially and realised that about 84,500 premises were unlikely to get high-speed broadband to their homes. We included them in the intervention area. That brought the figure to over 800,000 premises across the country. Deputy Dooley is correct. Eir has said for a long time that it would provide high-speed broadband to 300,000 homes in rural areas. We have all had experience of Eir giving commitments in the past.

We have made it crystal clear within my Department that we would amend the map for Eir or any other operator if it was prepared to sign a commitment agreement. We entered into discussions with Eir on that in late October or early November. Those discussions concluded at the end of last month. On foot of that, we signed the contract. That now means that fibre will be brought in 90% of cases to those 300,000 homes at a rate of passing one house every minute of every working day over the next 90 weeks.

It is my intention that after the completion of this, the momentum will continue until every single home has access to high-speed broadband. As I have said before in the House and publicly, I am not getting hung up on dates. I am focused on delivery. I have been able to bring forward the delivery of broadband services with which people can get speeds equivalent to 1,000 Mbps. This is the same as 200 high-definition Netflix channels going at the one time in the one home with no drop-off in service. That is the type of broadband that is only available in places like South Korea. Even parts of New York do not have that type of service.

We are bringing a future-proofed network to rural areas. Deputy Stanley asked me if the company is cherry-picking. The non-commercial aspect of the national broadband plan clearly deals with this in that the State would intervene where it was not commercially viable for an operator to provide high-speed broadband to those premises. Where there is a commercial operator willing to do that, then the State cannot intervene because of EU state aid rules. We have made sure that this company, which is spending €200 million of its money, will be tied into a contract in which we have bound it to targets on a quarterly and annual basis, so it ensures at least 30,000 homes a quarter are passed and that 95% of people who apply for a connection get one within 20 days. That is a significant improvement on the current situation.

If I am Minister in 90 weeks’ time, in my term I will have overseen one in four premises getting access to high-speed broadband. That is a significant improvement on the situation we had last year when people were canvassing and we had a deplorable broadband situation. We are not neglecting the people outside the light blue and dark blue areas. I accept the people in the amber areas are on the final stage of the State intervention in the national broadband plan. We are working with mobile phone companies and wireless operators to assist them in the roll-out of their networks with the release of the 3.6 GHz spectrum. We are working with local authorities and the National Roads Authority to release ducting. The mobile and wireless broadband task force is making significant progress in tackling bottlenecks, which is assisting companies on a commercial basis in rolling out networks to the four corners of this country. In tandem with that, we have provided funds to RTE to begin to release the 700 MHz spectrum which will provide 5G coverage. It is my firm view that this should be done on a geographical rather than a population basis. This will mean that the whole country will have access to 5G broadband.

The €15 million will be adequate to complete the procurement process. We are already going through the procurement and tender process. We are working on a 1,000 page, 25-year contract. It has to be future-proofed for those 25 years and it is important that we get it right.

The only communication I have seen from the other two bidders is what has been put out in their statements. The announcement we made this day last week would not come as a surprise to them. I am determined to make sure Eir fulfils its role and the winning bidders fulfil their roles so we can have high-speed broadband provided to every single rural premises as quickly as possible.