Mr. Aidan Dunning:

Yes; 27 secondary schools in County Mayo will get broadband speeds of 100 Mbps.

Several speakers asked about international connectivity and our position on the scale. As with all statistics, assessments of our position have varied. The OECD produced an assessment with which we are somewhat unhappy because it failed to take account of mobile broadband penetration. None the less, it is accepted as a harmonised approach. I acknowledge that further work needs to be done in respect of several of the OECD’s tables where we lag other countries. However, Singapore, which is at the top of the tables, has a population of 5 million in an area the size of County Louth. It is not costly to supply 100 Mbps to every household because the population is very dense. It would cost billions of euro to supply 100 MBps to every household in Ireland because of our topography and the fact that some 40% of our population live in rural areas. The population density in Ireland is 67 people per square kilometre, compared to 253 in the UK, 505 in South Korea and 7,000 in Singapore. These countries look great on advertised speeds but it is not necessarily the case that the offers are being taken up. There are other ways of measuring broadband provision. Akamai is an organisation which produces statistics on the speeds made available, as distinct from advertised. Ireland fares relatively well empirically in respect of the speeds that reach homes and business. We are ranked 13th globally and seventh in Europe for average peak connection speeds provided as distinct from advertised.

The purpose of the plan is to move us up the scale. We will easily beat the targets set out by Commissioner Kroes in the EU digital agenda

, both in regard to ubiquity, which we already have, and in regard to where we will be on speeds by the mid-term of the plan. The most difficult part of the plan is the target that 50% of the European population will have subscribed to 100 Mbps by 2020. It is a very ambitious target because it does not take account of peoples' circumstances or needs. Certainly by 2020 we hope to have availability up to that level but whether 50% will have subscribed is a matter of choice. This brings me back to the digital strategy and the importance of convincing people that it is in their interests to subscribe to broadband.

The spectrum auction was mentioned by Deputy Phelan. We are not involved in spectrum auction, which is a very sensitive issue. The process is under way at the moment and is being conducted completely by ComReg. We look forward to a positive outcome. I hope it will make available a very rich spectrum that will, in time, enable fourth generation broadband to be rolled out. That would be of huge benefit to rural areas in particular and enable much higher speeds than are currently available in those areas. It is probable that even with that level of connectivity and speed, there will be some Exchequer intervention required in those areas to make it a commercial proposition. Apart from the broadband aspect of it, there is also a significant Exchequer benefit in terms of payments made by service providers for the use of the resource. It is, after all, a national resource. Hopefully the payment will be significant this year and over the period of the licences. I emphasise again that the Department and the Minister are not involved in the auction. It is being run on a sealed basis by ComReg as we speak.

The issue of local authorities was also raised. In my speech I referred to a number of what I would call complimentary issues to the key issue of speeds, including the digital strategy and the local authorities. Clearly, local authorities and the planning system are crucial to enable service providers to provide the speeds and to do the work required, whether it be through civil works, the erection of masts or anything else. We had some very good engagement with our colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the run-up to the production of the plan. That will be ongoing.

We also have had very good engagement with the local authorities. I am very hopeful that, as we proceed on the various strands of the plan, the local authorities will be able to facilitate us through planning systems that will be encouraging of the roll-out of broadband. The local authorities very much recognise the importance of this for their areas. We see potential barriers, however. We are all aware that certain controversies can arise from time to time in regard to the location of infrastructure, whether it be telecoms, energy, roads or whatever, but we will be working very hard on this. We set up a group before the plan was produced to examine this whole area. That group will remain in existence to scope out guidelines - or something stronger, if necessary - that will enable the planning system to accommodate what needs to be done. This is something that is very much on our radar at present.

Deputy O' Donovan mentioned the multitude of agencies and the frustration of consumers. In that context, I would refer members to callcosts.ie, a website run by ComReg. It sets out the broadband speeds and offerings that are available in each county in Ireland. I have a copy of the most recent data, from July, which makes for very interesting reading. It shows that across every county there are various packages available. In the 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps sector, for example, there are 75 plans available in County Clare. If one moves up the chain to the 20 Mbps to 30 Mbps sector, there are still significant numbers of plans available in every county. That website is very useful. However, it does not drill down within each county and I am sure that is what the representations made to Deputies would be about.