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

There are 32,373 premises within the national broadband plan intervention area for County Donegal within the national broadband plan. As of early March 6,389, or 20%, of the premises in the county have been surveyed.  Of these premises that have been surveyed to date, National Broadband Ireland, NBI, indicates that approximately half will be passed and ready for connection next year with the other half passed and ready for connection in 2023.

Further details are available on specific areas within Donegal 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 through its website . 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.  I am advised that NBI is working to provide more detail on its website, with a rolling update on network build plans.

Broadband connection points, BCPs, are a key element of the national broadband plan providing high-speed broadband in every county in advance of the rolling out of the fibre to the home network. As of 3 March, 287 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high-speed broadband service will be switched on through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly accessible locations and by the Department of Education for schools. Ray Community Centre, Leghowney Community Centre, Fort Dunree Military Museum, Coole Cranford Community Centre, the Gweedore Theatre and the Meenreagh Hostel have now been connected with high-speed publicly accessible broadband.

My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high-speed broadband and this aspect of the national broadband plan is to be accelerated to ensure 679 primary schools nationally are connected to the high-speed broadband network by the end of next year. This will include 42 schools in County Donegal.

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