Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Flaherty for raising this issue. The provision of telecommunication services is a matter for the relevant service providers operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, as independent regulator. Unfortunately, there is no provision for the Minister or Department to instruct a commercial operator to do anything in this context. Decisions on the location of fibre roll-out are a commercial matter for operators. In April 2017, the then Minister signed a commitment agreement with Eir regarding its plans to provide high-speed broadband to 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis. This was later extended to a further 40,000 premises. While deployment is monitored under the terms of the agreement signed between the company and the Department, it is not funded by the State and is not planned, designed or directed by the Department in any capacity. A copy of the terms of the commitment agreement is available on the Department's website, where quarterly updates on Eir's rural deployment are also published. Information on Eir's planned rural deployment is available on the Open Eir website.

The footprint of the Yard enterprise hub in Abbeyshrule is within the area covered by this commitment agreement, and I understand that it will be served from the Colehill exchange in County Longford. According to roll-out information available to the Department, the Yard enterprise hub should be able to access a broadband connection from retail service providers offering services on the new Eir network. I am advised that the building being used by the enterprise hub is currently designated as a derelict building and that, as a result, there is no valid GeoDirectory building ID or Eircode postcode available for the building. The location will, therefore, be treated like a new build premises and can be indexed by Eir to the appropriate optical distribution point. Should the owners of the Yard enterprise hub in Abbeyshrule, County Longford, experience difficulties ordering a connection to Eir's new network from any of the retail service providers that are offering services over it, I would encourage them to email the Department at broadband@decc.gov.iewith specific details and officials will look into the matter further.

The Government's national broadband plan will ensure that citizens throughout the entire country have access to high-speed broadband services and that nobody is left without this vital service. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Of the 2.4 million premises across Ireland, 77% already have access to high-speed broadband of more than 30 Mbps. Investment in fibre networks provided by commercial operators and the national broadband plan will see 90% of premises across the State served with speeds in excess of 100 Mbps by 2024.

This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and State-led intervention.

It is encouraging to note that several industry players have announced further investment plans in high-speed broadband, including Eir, which has stated it will roll out fibre to a further 1.4 million premises, bringing its fibre deployment to some 1.8 million premises. SIRO is currently completing the first phase of its fibre deployment, which will see 375,000 premises passed with gigabit services. It is actively considering the scope of phase 2 of this project. Virgin Media is offering 250 Mbps as part of a standard offering, with 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps available to many of its customers across the more than 1 million premises it covers. It too is continuing to invest in upgrading its network. Many other network operators and telecom service providers across the State also continue to invest in their networks.

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