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

The target of the national broadband plan, NBP, is to bring a high-speed broadband connection to every single premises in Ireland as effectively and efficiently as possible. This means no home, business, school or community is left without access to high-speed broadband. This is being achieved in two ways, through investment by commercial operators and, where this will not deliver, through a State intervention. Commercial investment has totalled €2.75 billion over the past five years. This means that today more than 15 out of 20 premises have access to high-speed broadband commercially. Without the catalysing effect of the national broadband plan this would simply not be the case. My Department is in a formal procurement process to select a company that will roll out a new high-speed broadband network in the State intervention area.

I am pleased to inform the House and, more importantly, the 540,000 families and businesses that are awaiting high-speed broadband across the country, that today marks a historic milestone for the Government's national broadband plan. Earlier today, the remaining bidder in the national broadband plan procurement process submitted its final tender to my Department. Over the coming weeks, the Department's procurement team will evaluate the submission received today. I am looking forward to receiving the output from that particular evaluation.

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