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

The national broadband plan aims to ensure high-speed broadband access to every premises in Ireland, regardless of location. In April 2016 approximately 38,500 premises in County Tipperary had access to high-speed broadband. As of March 2018 that has gone up to 40,500 premises in County Tipperary with access to high-speed broadband, with a further 13,000 to be served under Eir’s ongoing rural fibre deployment. Some 30,000 premises will be served under the final phase of the State-led intervention in the national broadband plan.

I included in the programme for Government a commitment to a mobile phone and broadband task force, which works with the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, and stakeholders to alleviate some of the mobile coverage and broadband deficits. The following initiatives are evidence of the effectiveness of the task force in bringing forward proposals that will enhance mobile phone service quality, particularly in rural areas such as County Tipperary. They include the appointment of a broadband officer in every county to act as a single point of contact in local authorities for their communities, the removal of development contributions for telecommunications infrastructure and the revision of exempted development regulations by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government for the rollout of 4G and 5G broadband services.

My Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development, together with local authorities, have worked with telecoms companies to achieve greater consensus around site selection for telecoms infrastructure. Both Departments also worked with local authorities to map blackspots and identify infrastructure which could be used to provide additional coverage. I know Tipperary has submitted a list to our Departments in that regard. ComReg is developing a composite national coverage map which will, together with its work on handset testing, better inform consumer choice. The release by ComReg of the 3.6 GHz radio spectrum band, following my authorisation of this, will increase mobile capacity by 86%. In County Tipperary Transport Infrastructure Ireland has completed significant duct installation along the M8 motorway between Cashel and Mitchelstown. In the months ahead the task force will continue to take actions that will further improve mobile phone and broadband coverage throughout Ireland, including County Tipperary.

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