Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Troy and Michael Moynihan for raising this issue. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the matter. As appears from the reply to Question No. 78 of 18 September 2018, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, signed a commitment agreement with Eir in April 2017 on the plan to provide high-speed broadband to 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis. Eir states that to date more than 177,000 premises have been provided for. The national broadband plan aims to deliver high-speed broadband to every citizen and business in Ireland. This has been achieved through a combination of commercial investment and State-led intervention. Under EU competition rules, the State can only intervene where there is evidence of market failure and where commercial investment is unlikely. Eir selected some 300,000 premises for high-speed broadband based on the company's own analysis. These premises had been categorised for inclusion in the State intervention area under the national broadband plan. In April 2017, my Department determined that the company's deployment plans were credible and, accordingly, the premises were deemed commercial and removed from the State intervention area.

The Deputies queried the assessment of properties on a case-by-case basis. Eir has selected the premises to be included in its roll-out on the basis of internal commercial criteria as permitted when commerciality of an area can be demonstrated. Neither the Minister, Deputy Naughten, nor I nor my Department had any input in that process. My role and that of the Minister relate only to oversight and verification that these premises are passed according to the milestones laid out in the commitment agreement. Eir has stated publicly that it is not in a position to include additional premises on a case-by-case basis and this is entirely a matter for the company. All commercial decisions are matters for private operators in the market. I appreciate the frustration felt by people who see the deployment by operators throughout the country but who themselves continue to wait for a high-speed broadband service. Those premises not served through a commercial investment will be included in the State intervention area, which will build a high-speed broadband network in the areas not served by the commercial operators.

The Department is engaged in the formal procurement process to select a company to roll out a high-speed broadband network in the State intervention area and is now evaluating the final tender submission received from the bidding consortium on 18 September 2018. This is a significant milestone as the national broadband plan procurement process enters its final stages. I assure the House that every day more and more people in every county benefit from access to high-speed broadband as a direct result of the Government's action on the national broadband plan. I continue to be committed to the delivery of high-speed broadband to every home and business in Ireland. Today, of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland, seven out of every ten have access to high-speed broadband and it is anticipated that by the end of the year, that will grow to eight out of ten. The milestones are important. It is expected that a tender will be signed with the final bidder before the end of the year with roll-out to start in the intervention area for all 540,000 premises from 2019 on. That will take time. It is expected that from early 2019, every house will be told exactly when it will be connected.

I share the Deputies' frustration regarding the process under which Eir selected the houses. I have made representations as a constituency Deputy to the company on houses which have been left out when the line has not been extended further up a road. I share the frustrations all Members have and, like them, I can identify areas of need. We also accept, however, that the push with the national broadband plan and the pressure applied to the commercial operators mean Eir has agreed a commitment contract with the Department which will deliver 300,000 connections. We must appreciate that. While people have been left out, 300,000 will be connected to high-speed broadband because of the commitment contract signed with the State. Unfortunately and no more than with the intervention area decided on, not every house can be connected in the one year, month or week. Things have to start somewhere and we want to ensure a regional spread when the intervention area is rolled out.

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