John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 10, 34, 51, 58 and 85 together.

The State has no plans to invest in Eircom's infrastructure or regain control of any part thereof. Representatives of Babcock & Brown, a global investment and advisory firm founded in 1977 and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, met with representatives of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources on 22 February. Babcock & Brown sought to introduce itself to the Department as a courtesy and advise of its interest in Eircom. As Eircom is not a State company, the Department has no role in any talks between the companies.

The provision of telecommunications infrastructure and services is a matter in the first instance for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. However, recognising that a principal reason for the slow roll out of broadband services has been the lack of investment by the private sector in the necessary infrastructure to deliver broadband to all areas, the Government is addressing the infrastructural deficit in the regions by building high speed, open access metropolitan area networks, MANs, in 120 towns and cities nationwide. Phase one of this programme has delivered fibre optic networks to 27 towns and cities throughout the country.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

This programme has been extended to over 90 towns in various locations nationwide. It is expected these MANs will be completed during 2006 and 2007. These networks will allow the private sector to offer world class broadband services at competitive costs.

The Department also offers funding assistance for smaller towns and rural communities through the county and group broadband scheme. The scheme is technology-neutral, allowing the community to select the most suitable broadband delivery platform for the area. To date, more than 150 projects have been approved for funding under this programme. These initiatives are co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the national development plan. Funding under the plan also assisted Eircom and BT to enable more than 50 exchanges to provide broadband services and also co-funded the construction of a national backbone network by ESB Telecoms.

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