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

The procurement process to select a company that will deliver high-speed broadband to 543,000 premises in the State intervention area is now in its final stages. The bidding consortium is proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution, which will be capable of delivering more than 100 Mbps to premises and up to 1 gigabit for businesses. This network will be a wholesale open access network, over which multiple retail providers will offer a range of services to citizens and businesses at competitive prices.

The deployment of the State intervention network will allow 1.1 million citizens to fully participate in the digital society. The intervention area includes 558,000 members of the labour force for whom a high-speed broadband network will open up possibilities for remote working.  The intervention area also includes almost 56,000 farms, more than 44,000 small and medium enterprises and more than 600 schools.

As I outlined in my response to Deputy Stanley, my Department received today the final tender from the remaining bidder in the national broadband plan procurement process. I do not propose to comment further while the evaluation of the submission is ongoing. However, it is worth reflecting on the investment of more than €2.7 billion in high-speed broadband infrastructure that has taken place in Ireland in parallel with the national broadband plan procurement process. The commercial sector has clearly reacted to the programme for Government commitment to ensure access to high-speed broadband to every premises in Ireland by investing significantly in new infrastructure and by offering services with a minimum download speed in excess of 100 Mbps.

Deputy Dooley asked about the consortium. It is a Granahan McCourt Capital led consortium. While I do not propose to comment in any way on the submission received by my Department earlier today, I understand the consortium will issue a press statement later today providing some background detail.

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