Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the way the EU Commission’s proposals for reducing the cost of broadband will be transposed here; his views on the way Irish broadband costs for both business and personal customers compare to other EU countries and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27846/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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On 26 March last the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to reduce the cost of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks. The Commission also submitted its proposal to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament as it is required to do as a preliminary step in the EU legislative process.

The broad aim of the Commission's proposal is to allow investors planning to install next generation broadband infrastructure to identify and negotiate access to useful spare capacity within the infrastructure of other utilities operating in the electricity, gas, transport and water markets and to reduce or remove other identified barriers.

Following publication of the proposal, the Council and Parliament, acting independently of each other initially, must consider the Commission proposal and adopt any amendments they deem necessary.

Transposition within member states will not occur until the Council and Parliament reach agreement and publish a binding legislative text. It is only at that stage that any supplementary requirements, arising at the national level, to give full effect to the EU regulation can be assessed. It is my understanding that formal consideration of the Commission's proposal within the Council will commence in the coming weeks and a timeline for reaching conclusions on the proposal has yet to be set.

In terms of international price comparisons, I would advise the Deputy that ComReg, the market regulator, operates an online call-costs website which allows the public to compare the broadband packages marketed by the competing broadband services providers in any country. It is then a matter for customers to decide the most advantageous package available. ComReg also publishes quarterly statistical reports, which include international comparisons of retail broadband prices for residential and business customers.

The most recent report up to end 2012 shows that retail broadband prices in Ireland available to business users for fixed line broadband access and retail prices for pre-pay and post pay mobile broadband users are less than the EU average. The fixed line broadband charge for residential users exceeds the EU average.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In the case of fixed line broadband access charges it should be noted that the comparisons do not take account of bundled services. There is an increasing trend of customers migrating to bundled service which provide some combination of fixed telephony, Internet access, TV and mobile telephony services. At the end of 2012, 44% of fixed line broadband customers in Ireland had contracted for a bundled service.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister concluded his reply by suggesting that broadband costs in Ireland are almost on a par with the EU average. Some reports have suggested that the cost of broadband to households, businesses and services in this country is 27% higher than the EU average and 7% higher than the OECD average. Broadband is a fundamental issue for Ireland. I think it will define our society into the future. Over recent generations, we have seen a huge movement of people from the west coast to the east coast. The policies of successive Governments, including policies that are ongoing, seem to favour the east coast rather than the west coast. If we do not get our broadband policy right very soon, there will be a huge divide within Irish society. Any fair assessment of the policies to which I refer will conclude that they have been detrimental to society and will continue to be detrimental to society. That is a completely separate issue, however. The point I am making is that reports have suggested that broadband costs in this country are 27% higher than the EU average and 7% higher than the OECD average.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I agree with much of what Deputy Moynihan has said. I can tell him that the figures he has mentioned are wrong. He will have to trust me on that. I will give him the accurate figures. In Ireland, the average monthly cost of residential fixed-line services is €28. The EU average is €22. The average monthly cost of fixed-line services to businesses is €22, compared to an EU average of €30. The average cost of mobile pre-pay is €17 per month in Ireland, whereas the EU average is €18 per month. The average cost of mobile post-pay is €16 here and the EU average is €17.50. I agree with what the Deputy has said about the importance of telecommunications infrastructure. The issue for us is the quality of the service, rather than any comparative cost disadvantage vis-à-vis Europe. It is not the case that there is any such disadvantage. The broadband plan that I published acknowledges that State intervention is necessary because the broadband service in some less densely populated areas is basic. There is fierce competition within the private sector in urban areas. One sees that on television all the time. The State must intervene in less densely populated parts of the country where the service is basic. We have committed some €300 million for investment in that third tier. Approximately three weeks ago, we commissioned consultants to prepare our State aid application. We have to go through the state aid process if we are to be allowed to invest taxpayers' money in bringing the system up to par. That, rather than any comparative price disadvantage vis-à-vis the bulk of the countries in Europe, is the area we are focusing on.