Mr. Patrick Neary:

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the invitation to take part in today's discussion. The Minister, Deputy O' Donovan, recognises the key role that telecommunication networks play in Ireland's society and economy. Mobile and fixed broadband networks are key enablers of many aspects of modern life, connecting families and friends, allowing people to work from home, and making it easier for businesses to reap the benefits of the digital economy. The State's commitment to transforming our telecoms infrastructure is exemplified by the Government's target to deliver 100% gigabit connectivity to every premises in the State by 2028.

The State's national broadband plan is progressing well and is on track to complete its roll-out by the end of 2026. Commercial operators are continuing to progress their respective roll-outs in line with this target. Nonetheless, the extent of service outages experienced in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn last January has placed renewed focus on how resilient our telecommunication networks and emergency response systems are. The effect of Storm Éowyn on the national telecommunication sector was the largest in ComReg recording history.

Widespread loss of power and damage to infrastructure during Storm Éowyn on 24 January 2025 triggered a sharp and unprecedented disruption to our fixed and mobile connectivity, with the worst impacted areas located in the north and west of the country. At peak, approximately 280,000 users had no broadband or landline service, and more than 2 million mobile service users were affected to the extent that their local coverage was either degraded or completely off air.

Mobile networks experienced very little structural damage from the storm. It was the extended and pervasive loss of mains power that brought down their services. In line with the restoration of this mains power, mobile services were restored to over 99% of users by 7 February and all users by 11 February.

While the loss of mains power also severely impacted fixed networks, they experienced more extensive physical damage. Approximately 6,000 timber poles and 1,500 km of fibre and copper needed to be replaced to restore services. Fixed services, that is, fibre-, cable- or copper-based services, were restored to 99.9% of customers by 19 February. However, a small number of customers were without services for several months after the storm.

More severe windstorms can be expected over the coming decades. Last June, the Environmental Protection Agency published the National Climate Change Risk Assessment. The assessment prioritises both communications and electricity network infrastructures as being at risk of damage and disruption from extreme wind with critical consequences. In that light, building resilience into our networks will be an ongoing action for many years to come. Improved network resilience involves addresses two key areas, namely, preparedness, taking the appropriate actions before an event to absorb as much of the potential damage as possible without losing service, and response, having the appropriate structures and processes in place to repair damaged networks and restore services as quickly as possible.

The Department has conducted a thorough review of its own structures relating to emergency response. A new communication services emergency plan is being put in place to ensure the Department is well-prepared and ready to respond to the surge demands of any future similar event. The plan will ensure that Department officials can effectively manage the diverse demands of an extended emergency, such as the national emergency co-ordination group interactions, operational engagement with industry and responding to the needs of the political process.

Relevant legislation has also been reviewed to assess the extent and effectiveness of existing powers and obligations in areas such as outage information reporting and consumer rights. Legislative amendments are currently being progressed through the forthcoming national cybersecurity Bill.

The Minister has convened meetings with the relevant companies to hear from them directly and express his concerns and expectations. The Department has continued that dialogue with industry to understand what lessons they have learned from the storm, what actions are being taken to improve their network resilience and to understand how the State can support their efforts. Operators sought help to improve their ability to contact key personnel during an emergency and to facilitate better co-ordination with the State’s emergency response structures.

Investments are being made by industry to address network resilience. The fixed and mobile network operators have indicated they are undertaking a range of network hardening actions. These include reviewing the power requirements of all sites, acquiring additional backup batteries and power generators, making sites ready for mobile generators and improving backhaul route redundancy to key sites.

The Minister is determined that resilience is improved and, therefore, the Department has on foot of these ongoing engagements with key stakeholders established a new group to progress resilience issues that require collaboration and co-ordination. In partnership with ComReg and network infrastructure operators, the newly established telecommunications resilience and response group is focusing on a number of key issues in the short term.The first has been the identification of a list of mobile base station sites that will be prioritised in the event of a future emergency for restoration. A minimum level of mobile connectivity is necessary to ensure that everyone has the ability to contact the emergency services, make calls and send text messages. The second is the tighter integration of the network infrastructure operators into the existing emergency management structures of the State. The third is to improve and co-ordinate communication to the public during emergencies.

In the longer term, as the digital transformation of the State’s network infrastructure progresses, the potential impacts of climate change, whether it is extreme wind, flooding or coastal erosion, will need to be borne in mind in any future investments by the State.

The forthcoming sectoral adaptation plan for communication networks will set out in some detail the scale of the challenges ahead and the actions to be taken by the sector. We welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with the committee today.