Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The national broadband plan contract was signed with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, in November 2019 to roll out a high-speed and future-proofed broadband network within the intervention area, which covers 1.1 million people living and working in more than 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools.

The national broadband plan will ensure that citizens throughout the country have access to high-speed broadband services and nobody is left without this vital service. The national broadband plan network will offer users a high-speed broadband service with a minimum download speed of 500 Mbps from the outset. This represents an increase from the 150 Mbps committed to under the contract.

The high-speed broadband map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie, shows the areas which will be included in the national broadband plan State-led intervention, as well as areas targeted by commercial operators. I am advised that construction in all counties will commence in the first two years and over 90% of premises in the State will have access to high-speed broadband within the next four years.

Despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, NBI has made steady progress on initial works. I am advised by NBI that as of 8 January 2021, over 158,000 premises across 26 counties have been surveyed, which is ahead of schedule. The next step is for NBI to develop network designs to deliver the new fibre-to-the-home network to these premises and substantial design work is under way.

Build work has started in rural parts of Cork, Limerick, Cavan and Galway. The first fibre-to-the-home connections are connected and are in a test-and-trial phase in Carrigaline, County Cork. They will be subject to technical testing and validation prior to a wider release in the area. In the coming months retailers will be able to resell the service and householders in these areas will be able to order high-speed broadband provided via the NBI network. A test-and-trial phase in Cavan and Galway will also commence shortly.

Further details on specific areas are available through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises when works are due to commence.

Broadband connection points, BCPs, are a key element of the national broadband plan providing high-speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll-out of the fibre-to-the-home network. As of 21 December, 241 publicly accessible sites have been installed by NBI and the high-speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly available sites and by the Department of Education for schools.

School BCPs will be provided with high-speed broadband for educational use only and some 70 schools will be connected by the end of January through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Education. An acceleration of this aspect of the project announced in December will see almost 700 primary schools connected to high-speed broadband by 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise other schools with no high-speed broadband for connection over the term of the national broadband plan. Further details are available on the NBI website at .

While substantial progress has been made to date, the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the delivery of the fibre network. The extent of this impact is currently being assessed and NBI has committed to put in place measures to mitigate the impact as much as possible.

The pandemic has also highlighted the importance of good reliable broadband to ensure that citizens across Ireland can avail of remote working, education and other essential online facilities. This is reflected in the commitments in the programme for Government where delivery of the national broadband plan will be a key enabler to many of the policies envisaged particularly relating to increased levels of remote working.

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