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

I thank Deputy Flaherty for raising this issue. I recognise how vital telecommunications services are to citizens for so many aspects of their daily lives including remote working, studying and staying in touch with family members. These services have proved essential since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and given the restrictions imposed nationally. Having local facilities such as libraries and hubs in place to facilitate digital access in towns and villages will be important in the gradual return to normality and economic recovery.

The provision of services in a liberalised market, however, is regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. I do not have a direct role in investment decisions. Eir is a private, commercial company and the decision to roll out broadband infrastructure is a matter for the management of the company.

That said, with regard to connectivity on a nationwide basis, the national broadband plan, NBP, is obviously of critical importance in ensuring high-speed connectivity. Work is under way on foot of the contract, which was signed with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, to roll out a high-speed network right across the country, including 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools.

The NBP network will offer those premises in the intervention area a high-speed broadband service of up to 500 Mbps from the outset. Construction will commence in all counties, including Longford, in the first two years and more than 90% of premises in the State will have access in the next four years. In County Longford, almost 5,000 premises have been passed by the Eir 300K roll-out in recent years. NBI is making steady progress on the delivery of the NBP. Design work is complete or ongoing in target townlands across the country. Since 25 January 2021, retailers have been able to resell the service to householders across the NBI network.

As regards the specific query raised by the Deputy, I understand that Longford County Council is currently in active discussions with Eir and with relevant Departments, including mine and the Department of Rural and Community Development, to determine how best to ensure improved digital and broadband access for Edgeworthstown, including for the start-up hub and the library, both of which are due to open towards the end of 2021. In the context of our economic recovery, and on the day after the launch of the national economic recovery plan, we must look to the future to support the full resumption of work and to get people back to work. It is hugely important that vibrant local partnership approaches such as those being taken in all local authority areas, including through the work of the local broadband officers, be supported in driving forward digital transformation at local level for the benefit of communities. Hubs such as the one planned for Edgeworthstown will help kick-start local economies all over Ireland and facilitate co-working, SMEs, start-ups and local job creation.

There may be an opportunity in this regard. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, is particularly keen on the concept of hubs. I understand that the Co:worx hub in Edgeworthstown is a former Ulster Bank branch and I am sure that location would be familiar to her. What is happening in that town is exactly the sort of project at the centre of our new rural development strategy. Yesterday, it was announced that in excess of €60 million has been allocated for just these types of hubs in the new recovery and resilience plan. I will discuss with the Ministers for Rural and Community Development and Enterprise, Trade and Employment whose Department is responsible for that plan and how this particular project would fit within Government plans. It is exactly in tune with what we want to do in the recovery plan so we should do everything we can to support it. It looks like a good example of what we want.

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