Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will report on the Government's target of 700,000 broadband subscribers by the end of 2007; his views on the targets the Government should set for broadband roll-out to 2010; the measures he will take to introduce this objective; if he has had contact with broadband service providers on achieving the new 700,000 target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23088/07]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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There were 698,000 broadband subscribers in Ireland at end of quarter two of 2007 according to official figures from ComReg. Since then, the 700,000 target has been achieved and I am confident the final figure for the end of 2007 will greatly exceed 700,000. This 698,000 figure is equivalent to 16.48% of the population. At the start of 2005 only 3% of the population were broadband subscribers and 6.76% of the population at the start of 2006. This is significant progress by any measure.

A draft policy paper on next generation broadband is being prepared by my Department, which will review current communications infrastructure policy, and analyse policy options in light of industry developments. This will give guidance on the optimum role for Government in the planning and roll-out of broadband. It will be in this context that any new targets may be set.

My Department has undertaken initiatives to address the gaps in broadband coverage. These include providing grant-aid under the recently concluded group broadband scheme and investment in Metropolitan Area Networks, MANs.

Despite these Government initiatives there are still some parts of the country where the private sector will be unable to justify the commercial provision of broadband services. Accordingly, the procurement process for a national broadband scheme is under way. The national broadband scheme will provide broadband services to areas that are currently not served and will ensure that all reasonable requests for broadband in those areas are met.

My Department is anticipating that the award of the national broadband scheme contract will be in quarter two of 2008, with roll-out of the services due to begin as soon as possible thereafter. This timeline is subject to negotiations with candidates during the competitive dialogue phase of the procurement process.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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One of the major complaints I have received through constituents and across the country has been problems with broadband. Is the Minister aware there are still significant complaints in regard to inability to access it, the cost in some cases, and sometimes technical difficulties? Has he considered looking at the figures to see how effective is the provision across the country because it appears there is a slight disconnect between the reality and the figures and statistics he has given? In relation to MANs, when in opposition the Minister called MANs a spectacular waste of money. Perhaps the Minister would elaborate on his views now, because it appears that what he is talking about in terms of transferring €10 million out of the MANs and into the greenhomes scheme will have a fairly sizeable impact, whether on a multi-annual basis or not. What exactly will be the impact? Given that all politics is local, on the whole issue of enabled exchanges, Eircom has enabled 500 exchanges and have promised 400 more in the next two years — although it keeps changing its timetable — yet, there is a huge disparity across the country. In Wicklow there are 13 while in Donegal there are 30. That does not auger well for my constituents and I am sure other parts of the country have difficulties as well. Perhaps the Minister would comment.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Where we are not getting sufficient service I have no problem in deploring that and in encouraging the companies involved. I will have no problem in regulating as much as possible to ensure that the companies involved begin to provide services. In the case of Wicklow if that is the level of exchange that has been enabled, then it is an issue of real concern. The response to that is how we deliver it. There are various way of delivering service, one of which is through competition. Where a company does not provide a viable product in that area, if we could ensure there is a competitor who would get a competitive advantage it would give a real impetus to the existing companies to ensure they provide it.

In other words if a cable operator in Bray or Wicklow could start meeting some of the slack demand or a mobile operator could take on the business that undoubtedly exists there, it would put pressure on companies where there are gaps in availability to ensure it is provided. It is not just basic availability. We need to consider higher speeds and cheaper prices. We need to move on from the level of coverage and the statistics in terms of the number of houses that have it to the quality of the service.

In general we have a difficulty relating to two very different geographical circumstances. In urban areas it would be easier to achieve such competition because of the existence of cable and fixed lines — there is copper in the ground. The national broadband scheme exists to ensure we do not leave sections of the country behind and that we have universal accessibility. We then need to ensure the speeds are higher and the prices are lower. This is not just banging or hammering companies. Their long-term viability relies on such a universal high-quality and lower-price service being available. This represents the future for communications.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Regarding the end of the group broadband scheme, is the Minister telling us today that people in rural areas without the capacity to connect to broadband will have no Government sponsored or supported scheme to help them connect to broadband until the national broadband scheme is in place, which the Minister has advised will be some time after 2008? For the next 18 months people can have no aspiration to gain broadband in their homes or businesses if they cannot currently get it. The Government has nothing to offer to people for the next 18 months to two years until the new national broadband scheme is in place.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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I wish to reinforce what the Deputy has said. I am aware of significant rural parts of my constituency where considerable frustration has been expressed. There would be concern that they will now need to wait until 2008. The Minister talking about competition is a very poor response when we are talking about areas of the country in which competition will not apply to any great extent. It is one thing to have a model in Dublin. I am not talking about people living on the tops of mountains; I am talking about relatively sizeable villages with only recent introduction of broadband as is the case in Rathnew, for example, or places still struggling to get a decent broadband service. If a decent broadband service exists they are often expected to pay through the nose for it.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I do not know where Deputy Coveney got the 18 months figure. I believe I said earlier that the scheme would be operational by the second quarter of 2008, which would be less than six months away. The group broadband scheme was fully implemented in terms of processing all the applications and providing grants in 2004 and 2005. Based on the experience of that scheme it was decided that the way to ensure it really covered all areas was to move to this national scheme, which I regard as a positive development.

When on holidays in Inishbofin this summer I experienced a very good broadband scheme in a very isolated rural island, which indicates that companies exist and group broadband schemes are operating providing it to rural areas. We need to ensure universal availability and then move up to make it higher speed and lower cost, which is the key development I will be pursuing in the consumers' interest.

Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the continued ownership by Eircom of the national landline network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23122/07]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Eircom's fixed line network is one of many regulated communications networks in Ireland. The communications landscape has been transformed over the last decade. Where once we had just one publicly owned telecommunications company, we now have close to 400 operators in the communications area. Ireland now has a mix of mobile, wireless, cable and fixed networks all of which are capable of delivering high-quality, innovative telecommunications services including broadband. The regulation of these networks, including Eircom, is a matter for the independent Commission for Communications Regulation.

My role as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is to ensure the best possible legislative and regulatory framework for telecommunications services to promote the public interest in this area. In my view the public interest is best served in the telecommunications sector by having a state of the art, affordable and accessible telecommunications service that can be used sustainably for social and economic development. My priority therefore, is to provide the policy framework for the sector as a whole to facilitate the provision of competitive high-quality communications services across a range of infrastructure platforms.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister consider it would be desirable for Eircom to considering splitting into a wholesale network provider and a retail provider of telecommunications services? If that were to happen would the Government be interested in using the split as a way to roll out broadband across the country and to ensure that the network was managed and regulated independently without a retail arm and concentrated solely on providing a wholesale pricing for the use of its network to all competing service providers?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Yes, it would be a positive development. We look to the UK example where a similar incumbent provider separated its business and provided its mainline retail network on a wholesale access basis. Going back to the argument the Deputy made earlier, it seems to me that there is an economic or commercial benefit for companies moving in that direction. By raising the overall level of business, be it in wholesale or retail, it could make more efficient use and development of a network system. I would be supportive of such a development. The exact mechanisms and how it would be done would primarily be a commercial matter for the company. It would be its decision as to how it managed its assets and arranged its business. The Government will work in one manner with ComReg and the Department to assist in whatever way possible such a development.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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If that split were to happen would the Government be tempted to buy a share in that network company? The Minister and many others have been very critical that in the sale of Telecom Éireann we sold a very valuable network which many people would like to see in State hands or at least controlled by the State. Is there a potential opportunity for the State to buy back an asset that perhaps should never have left State hands in the first place?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Earlier I spoke about the developing competitive market in terms of not just fixed line telecommunications providers of which there are several. The number of companies in the telecommunications area is very significant in wireless, cable and a range of different technological services. We need to be very careful that we do not just jump into a very quickly evolving and competitive market in a way that would restrict our development technologically. My general instinct is that we would need to look in some detail at any proposal, to consider the costs and benefits and the developing market conditions, and to be very careful before making similar bold moves that in the past might have seemed in the first instance to be very astute but actually have longer-term consequences that are difficult to manage. My main intent in this regard is to work with ComReg, which has been in existence for ten years and has considerable experience, and my Department to consider all the consequences of any such separation, but not to commit the State to anything as yet.