Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assume from the question the Deputy is referring to premises that are adjacent to, but not included in, eir's ongoing rural deployment of broadband to 300,000 premises between now and the end of 2018. This roll-out by eir is an example of the ramping up of commercial investment by industry which has been stimulated by the Government's national broadband plan.

To ensure that nobody is left behind, my Department is engaged in an ongoing procurement process to select a bidder or bidders which will roll out the new high-speed broadband network for the State-led intervention phase of the national broadband plan. My Department's specialist national broadband plan team is currently evaluating the detailed solutions received from two bidders last September as part of that competitive procurement process. This is the last stage of the procurement process before receipt of final tenders and progression to the appointment of a preferred bidder or bidders.

As Ireland's telecommunications market is a liberalised market, decisions by private companies on the roll-out and locations for their infrastructure are a matter for those companies.  I understand the frustration for people who live near, but are not included, in the current roll-out of fibre by commercial companies. eir's decisions as to the areas and premises to be served as part of its 300,000 rural deployment is a matter for the company. While that is the case, eir has indicated that it will consider including additional premises for areas where low-level designs have yet to be completed. I have asked that the local authority broadband officers identify candidate premises for inclusion in the eir 300,000 roll-out based on guideline criteria and I understand that this information was submitted via my Department to eir last week. Decisions on the inclusion of any individual premises remains a matter for eir.

I reiterate that any premises not covered by commercial operators private investment will be included in the State-led NBP intervention phase.

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