Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. The national broadband plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.

The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades and I understand that over €18 million has been invested in broadband services in Kerry over the past 18 months. Approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next number of years. These very significant investments represent a step-change in the quality of broadband services available.

On 24 November last, a public consultation on a national high speed coverage map 2016 was launched. This allows all members of the public, be they business or residential, to identify whether their premises-home is included in the Government's proposed intervention. It also provides detailed information on a county-by-county basis as to which villages and townlands are to be included. The map can be accessed at . The areas on the map marked blue will all have access to high speed broadband services of at least 30 Mbps from the commercial sector by end of 2016. The areas marked amber will require the intervention of the State. It is anticipated that speeds of at least 30 Mbps will be delivered through the Government's intervention and the network will be designed to cater for future increased demand from consumers and business.

The next steps in this process will see a further public consultation on a detailed intervention strategy in mid-2015. A detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select a potential preferred bidder-bidders towards the end of 2015. In this regard, the Department will design a tender in a way that maximises efficiencies and keeps the cost to taxpayers as low as possible. It is expected that the physical build of this network will commence from 2016. This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government. It aims to conclusively address current connectivity challenges in Ireland.

See this speech in context