Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Considerable progress has been made in recent years in both the speeds and coverage of national broadband infrastructure, with a multiplicity of commercial operators providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms.

The Government has also undertaken a number of initiatives to bring broadband to those parts of the country where commercial operators have been unable to offer services. The combination of private investment and State interventions means that Ireland has met the EU Commission's digital agenda for Europe target of having a basic broadband service available to all areas by 2013.

The Government, through the national broadband plan, which I published on 30 August last year, has recognised that the key imperative now is to ensure high speed broadband availability to all. The plan commits to high speed broadband availability across the country by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30 Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU's target date of 2020.

During the preparation of Ireland's national broadband plan, the commercial market operators indicated that they expect to provide 70 Mbps to 100 Mbps services to 50% of the population by 2015. The commercial sector is already committed to investments of the order of some €1 billion which will deliver broadband speeds of 30 Mbps to 150 Mbps to homes and businesses. For example, Eircom is investing up to €500 million in a phased deployment of fibre to the cabinet infrastructure, which is planned to make high-speed broadband available to some 1.2 million premises. The network has already reached more than 230,000 premises and is expected to be launched over the coming months. UPC is investing €500 million in its cable and fibre network, which is delivering speeds of up to 150Mbps. UPC aims to have this service available to 700,000 homed by 2015. Mobile telecommunications operators will be rolling out advanced mobile broadband products in 2013, following the recent multi-band spectrum auction.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The national broadband plan commits the Government to investing in areas where high speed services are not commercially viable and will not be provided by the market. My Department is making preparations to commence a formal national mapping exercise to inform the level of Government interaction that may be required and the areas that need to be targeted for a State-led investment. It will also form a critical input to an EU State aid application in respect of any State-led intervention. This will ensure that citizens or businesses, wherever they are located, have a broadband connection which meets their needs to interact effectively with society and business. I reiterate that the Government remains committed to the delivery of the speeds referred to in the plan, to ensure that all parts of Ireland will have at least 30 Mbps connectivity.

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