Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources when he will produce a timetable for the announced plan to provide next generation broadband to secondary schools; the way he intends to roll out this plan; if he will go to tender to employ a single company to do it; the amount allocated to broadband for schools in budget 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37465/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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A key objective of broadband policy is to develop access to at least 100 megabyte per second high speed broadband in secondary schools.

The consultation paper on next generation broadband, published in July, contains a commitment to this project and discussions have taken place between officials of my Department and HEAnet to develop the means by which it will be implemented.

A steering group, including officials from my Department and the Department of Finance, the Department of Education and Science and HEAnet will be established shortly to agree the terms of reference and the programme schedule for the roll-out of the project. A budget allocation has been provided for the roll-out of high speed broadband to some schools in 2009. Details on this first phase of the programme will be available in due course.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I sound like a broken record discussing broadband, because every time telecommunications matters are discussed under Priority Questions the matter makes up at least two, if not more, of the questions. It is difficult not to be more sceptical than before about the claim that the Minister and the Government are prioritising broadband expenditure when there is a cut of 25% in the budget allocation for information and telecommunications technologies programmes from €53 million this year to €40 million next year. At the same time the Minister repeatedly announces his commitment to rolling out next generation broadband in schools throughout the country, despite that fact that he does not know how it will work yet, he cannot say how much money he will allocate to it and we simply have no timeframe. Will the Minister, Deputy Ryan, answer the following specific questions? Is there a timeframe for the roll-out of next generation broadband access to schools for next year? Does the Minister have data available on the extent of broadband availability in secondary schools? How many secondary schools do not have access to acceptable bandwidth? In my view, he does not know the answers to those questions, so I do not know how he expects people to believe he will roll-out next generation broadband to all schools across the country by the end of 2009 or early 2010.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Some 3,901 out of 3,936 schools have their local broadband connectivity installed, which is over 99% of them. Installation has typically been at speeds of up to 2 megabytes per second. My belief is that it is appropriate for us to go to speeds of 100 megabytes per second and eventually to have wireless connectivity within the school, so broadband is available in each classroom and not necessarily in a computer room or in certain locations within the school. That is why I included that strategic aim in the next generation broadband paper. It was published in July and it is fair and proper to have a consultation process, something which is coming to an end. When the process ends, we will publish a final version of the paper and we will go out and deliver.

The experience of putting broadband into those 3,900 schools is something on which we can build for future development. I referred to the discussions with HEAnet because this body also has a crucial part to play in achieving the roll-out. We already have a successful backhall network in the educational broadband sector, especially in our third level colleges. HEAnet has real expertise in delivering broadband to educational establishments and in putting in filtering systems. That is why I have confidence in the ability of HEAnet and of my Department to deliver the objective that has been set. However, prior to completing the consultation process, it is appropriate to get the details of the process worked out and then publish the timetable, budget and other details.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has been in charge for 18 months. I agree we need to roll out next generation broadband facilities to schools. The problem is that people have simply lost patience with him due to a lack of action. We do not need more consultation. We need an action plan for moving forward with clear timetables and a clear financial commitment. What will be the implication for schools of a 25% cut in the capital allocation for broadband expenditure next year?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The main reason for that downturn is that we are not progressing with a further stage of investment in the metropolitan area networks. This is a policy with which Fine Gael agreed. That took up some €200 million over recent years. The reason for the reduction in the budget is that the programme is being reviewed. I do not see the budget cuts impacting on our ambitions in broadband development elsewhere. I recognise that our role is to intervene where the market cannot deliver, but the market also has a key role. The industry is spending around €725 million this year on next generation broadband.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The market will not deliver that.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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No, it will not. That is why the Government will deliver in that area.