Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome that the Minister is here for the debate because this is a reflection on every community, not only those in rural areas.

There has been an issue with the broadband services provided through the Eircom exchange in Banteer in County Cork over the past couple of months and I am dealing with a number of businesses and consumers who are looking for broadband.

At the outset, broadband is as important to the community in Banteer or any other community in north Cork as electricity was in the 1950s. The Government should accept the need to make it a priority to ensure the broadband services are delivered.

There has been an issue in relation to this community over the past number of months and the community council has been active in trying to engage and liaise with Eircom to get a response on the issue. There has been a number of issues. Eircom has come back with issues in relation to the modem and other matters, and the community council has quite clearly come back and stated that on these issues what Eircom has been telling it is completely untrue and that we are without proper broadband services. Everybody within the community is using the Internet no more than those in urban centres and they need it at this stage.

In Banteer, there have been numerous commitments in relation to Eircom's exchange. It simply is not happening there.

Back in July, it became apparent that the quality of the service had deteriorated enormously. Several employers in the community have been on to Eircom about the broadband services in the area but have been fobbed off. However, it is now clear Eircom has not taken control of the issue or repaired the service. Will the Minister intervene in this case? It will take a whole-of-government intervention to deal with this broadband crisis in rural areas. Many of the communities with which I deal with tell me their main issue is with the poor provision of broadband services.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Since market liberalisation in 1999, broadband services are delivered through private sector operators. The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband services, is primarily a matter for the service providers concerned which operate in a fully liberalised market regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. Details of broadband services available in each county can be found on several websites, including ComReg's website at www.callcosts.ie, as well as the websites of individual commercial operators. Decisions by private operators, including Eircom, relating to investment in infrastructure to provide broadband services are taken purely on commercial grounds, having regard to the cost of service provision and the anticipated revenue returns from any such investment.

Eircom has made public announcements concerning its plans for a roll-out of advanced fibre networks in a large number of towns and cities. This is part of a major commercial investment by Eircom in which it intends to roll out an advanced high speed broadband network to almost 1.6 million houses and businesses across the country. In this regard, I would direct the Deputy to the Eircom press announcement on 29 November 2013 when the company listed all the areas it has plans to upgrade.

The area of Banteer, County Cork, is on this published list and Eircom plans to upgrade this exchange in the coming months. Decisions such as this are strictly commercial in nature. The Deputy will, accordingly, appreciate I do not have a statutory authority to direct commercial companies such as Eircom in this regard.

The Government welcomes the investment by the commercial sector of some €2.5 billion in new infrastructure and services and is strongly supportive of a robust and competitive telecoms market. Examples of this significant investment are the accelerated investment by Eircom. In 2012, when we first published the national broadband plan, Eircom was committed to addressing 1 million homes with its e-fibre service. It launched this service just over a year ago and has already passed 1 million premises. It has committed to passing 1.6 million homes by mid-2016. This investment programme represents a major advancement in the availability of high-speed broadband services. The exchange at Banteer is part of this programme.

In 2012, when the national broadband plan was launched, UPC committed to services of 25 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Two years on, over 700,000 homes can already access minimum broadband speeds of 120 Mbps and up to 200 Mbps. Businesses can access speeds of 500 Mbps. The ESB and Vodafone have established a joint venture company which will invest €450 million to deliver fibre-based broadband services off the ESB distribution network offering speeds from 200 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps. The first phase of this project will reach 500,000 premises in 50 towns.

Mobile telephone operators are now rolling out 4G services nationwide, as well as enhancing the quality and availability of 3G services. However, operators have made it clear to the Government that there are large parts of the country which they cannot address commercially. The Government's statement of priorities for 2014 to 2016 reaffirms our commitment to delivering a State-led broadband intervention in the areas where commercial investment is not forthcoming. Through the national broadband plan, the Government aims to ensure high-speed broadband is available to all citizens and businesses. In 2012, we predicted the need for the State to address 1.3 million of Ireland's 2.3 million premises. Thanks to investment by Eircom and others, that area has now reduced to 900,000 premises, a 30% reduction. This could reduce further with the proposals by the ESB and others in the industry.

My Department, in conjunction with the industry, is finalising a mapping exercise which will identify the precise areas of commercial investment, as well as those areas that require a State-led intervention. The maps will be published later this year for public consultation. They will be dynamic and subject to change as new commercial investments are announced or rolled out in the future. This is an important milestone in the overall project which will feed into the project implementation strategy which we will publish in 2015 for consultation.

Consumers can be assured that through the combination of commercial and State-led investment, the Government intends to ensure everyone can access high-quality broadband services, regardless of where they live or work.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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There is a major issue here with the Government accepting there is a crisis in broadband provision in some rural communities which needs to be addressed forthwith. When will the Banteer exchange be upgraded? What are those reliant on the service who have had a complaint about it for the past several months to do in the meantime? It is high time there was a crisis meeting between the Minister, his Department and ComReg to address this problem because the machinery in place to address complaints about broadband provision is not delivering results.

I understand all the schemes and initiatives for broadband roll-out that have been announced. However, there is a crisis on the ground in broadband provision for rural communities. I fear for their future if nothing is done about it. When will the promised upgrade of the Banteer exchange happen? Will the Minister and his officials explain to Eircom that this issue was raised on the floor of the House and how dissatisfied those affected in Banteer are with the way their complaint has been handled over the past several months? Eircom has claimed it is not its fault but it is high time it accepted there is an issue there. It is making money on the backs of consumers but has not satisfactorily dealt with the complaint by the people of Banteer.

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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Eircom is a private company and, as I indicated earlier, I do not have the statutory authority, as the Deputy is aware, to direct any commercial company, Eircom or otherwise, in any particular regard. However, I agree with him on the provision of quality broadband service in towns and rural areas. Services have improved immensely in recent years due to the input of several commercial operators, including, in fairness, Eircom. Earlier, I detailed its investment in the system. I also agree with the Deputy that there are areas where the service is still short of what people are entitled to expect. I have no difficulty in communicating to Eircom what the Deputy raised in the House this afternoon.

I would not like anyone to have the impression, however, that the Government does not see the importance of broadband. It does. I am actively engaged in bringing forward the national broadband plan, which I regard as critical.

There are parts of the country where the commercial sector will never make money on broadband, which is why the State will have to intervene. That is the reason the State has a critical role in this vital infrastructure to which the Deputy referred. I agree with him that broadband provision is important for businesses, communities, families and in a whole host of different ways to which he alluded.

I will continue to regard the extension of broadband as an absolute priority for me, as a relatively new Minister, and the Department. I hope to work with the Deputy and other Deputies to advance this important project. I look forward to the support of colleagues across the House for the project. In the meantime, while I do not have any statutory role in respect of any of the individual providers, I will certainly undertake to communicate to Eircom the points the Deputy raised.