Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will confirm that, as he stated in a speech to Dáil Éireann on 26 February 2008, all areas that do not have broadband by 1 July 2008 will get broadband under the national broadband scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10900/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The role of the Government is to formulate regulatory and infrastructure policies to facilitate the provision of high quality telecommunications services by competing private sector service providers. The widespread provision of broadband services continues to be a priority for the Government. In that regard, 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.

There are still 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 scheme will provide broadband services for areas currently unserved and ensure all reasonable requests for broadband are met. The first phase of the procurement process — pre-qualification questionnaire — is complete and four candidates pre-qualified to enter the next phase of the process. As my Department indicated on 2 September 2007, the four candidates were, in alphabetical order, BT Communications Ireland Limited consortium, Eircom Limited, Hutchinson 3G Ireland Limited and IFA-Motorola consortium. Following the withdrawal of the IFA-Motorola consortium as a candidate, the remaining three candidates commenced competitive dialogue with my Department and are developing their proposed solutions to meet my Department's requirements for the delivery of broadband to the unserved areas of the country. It is anticipated that a preferred bidder will be selected and appointed in June 2008, with roll-out to commence as soon as possible thereafter, subject to agreement with the chosen candidate.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I note we are discussing the issue of broadband again. We will continue to return to it until the Opposition is satisfied the Government is taking it seriously. Is it the case that the map I am holding which I downloaded from the Department's website represents the Minister's view on areas covered by broadband? Do the areas shaded in blue represent areas for which a proposal in respect of coverage has been made? Is it, therefore, the case that the national broadband scheme will not apply to any of the areas shaded in red? I understand the Department has indicated to the European Commission that areas shaded in red are off limits to the scheme because they offer a market for broadband. Is that the case?

How does the Minister plan to deal with areas on the map shaded in red which do not have broadband? For example, most of County Leitrim is shaded in red, whereas a recent survey conducted by Leitrim County Council showed that 50% of respondents indicated they had no access to broadband, notwithstanding the price they would be willing to pay. Virtually the whole of County Kilkenny is shaded in red, yet the thick file I am holding contains representations made to a Senator on the non-availability of broadband in the county. Will the Minister clarify the position?

The Minister repeated a statement he made a few weeks ago that all areas which do not have broadband services by 1 July will have broadband delivered through the national broadband scheme. Are areas shaded in red on the Department's map off-limits for the national broadband scheme?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The intent of the national broadband scheme is clear, namely, to ensure broadband services will be available throughout the country. As this is a changing area, it is difficult to state at a given time what precisely are the services being provided. The Department asked the industry to outline in detail which areas would be served. If areas are not served by 1 July, the date on which we intend to commence delivering the national broadband scheme, they will be included in the scheme. While the map will change before the commencement date of 1 July, this date is the test that will determine whether an area will be included in the national broadband scheme. It is sensible and rational to take into account ongoing, changing investment by companies and ensure we target investment available under the support scheme at the areas we want to work best, namely, those for which there is currently not a commercial case for investment.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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How does the Minister square his view with the statement by the Commission for Communications Regulation at a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic Regulatory Affairs that the national broadband scheme would not provide 100% coverage. Mr. Alex Chisholm from ComReg indicated that while the scheme would increase coverage from approximately 85% to approximately 95% of the population, 5% of the population would continue to be excluded from broadband services.

Did the Department not inform the European Commission that the national broadband scheme would apply to areas of its map of broadband coverage shaded in green or blue, that is, areas where there is market failure or potential market failure, respectively, and that it considered areas marked in red to have broadband coverage?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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As I explained, my Department aims to achieve 100% coverage. I intend to deliver on that objective.