Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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36. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the timeframe for the procurement process and delivery of the national broadband plan; and if he foresees any problems that may inhibit or create difficulty in the successful roll out of the broadband network to the intervention areas. [6091/17]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister on his first day back. It is good to see him back on his feet again. Hopefully he will make a full recovery. He has been through a difficult time.

This question is about the national broadband plan.

There is major concern about it. The roll-out of the plan is badly needed in all areas. I was in County Roscommon yesterday, which is one of the counties in which the roll-out of broadband services is needed. It is also urgently needed in County Laois. People in rural parts of the county cannot do business due to the lack of it. We want to see its speedy roll-out.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has two minutes to reply and perhaps he would keep an eye on the clock.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Grand.

The national broadband plan aims to deliver high-speed broadband services to households, schools and businesses throughout Ireland. The programme for Government commits to the delivery of the national broadband plan as a priority. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and by State intervention.  

Currently, approximately 1.4 million premises in Ireland can get high-speed broadband of a minimum of 30 Mbps from commercial service providers and investment by the telecoms sector is continuing to expand this footprint.

My Department is actively monitoring the commercial deployment plans in the blue areas on the high-speed broadband map on our website, www.dccae.gov.ie, to ensure that all premises can get access to services. Direct feedback from consumers is important and if customers in these areas cannot access high-speed broadband services, they should inform my Department by emailing us at broadband@dccae.gov.ie. My Department is also actively monitoring developments of the commercial operators that might have an impact on the intervention area.

The formal procurement process to select a company or companies which will roll out a new high-speed broadband network within the State intervention area is being intensively managed to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network for at least 25 years. Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and to date, we have had more than 500 hours of competitive dialogue. The three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. This provides for a future-proofed solution for the 25 years of the contract and beyond.A fibre-to-the-home solution means speeds not just of 30 Mbps but much higher, potentially up to 1,000 Mbps. 

My Department will shortly update the high-speed broadband map and finalise this intervention area to give certainty to the procurement process, taking into account industry investments that have not yet materialised in the blue areas, together with new industry investments within the proposed State intervention area, along with concrete and credible commitments by industry for further new investments within the intervention area.

The timeframe for the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors, including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team and bidders during the procurement process.

I advise the Deputy that no one will be left behind.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister will have two more opportunities to respond.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The roll-out of the national broadband plan will happen in every county together.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. The concern is that there has been slippage in the timeline for the procurement process. It was supposed to happen during the term of the previous Government in the Thirty-first Dáil. It is not the Minister's fault that it did not happen but his party came into office and this was to happen in the first six months of the Government's term of office. It was delayed, and postponed until this year and it is now delayed until further on in the year. People in the industry say it will be well into next year before the procurement is sorted out. That is of major concern because broadband connectivity is essential for businesses and jobs in rural Ireland. In saying rural Ireland, I am also referring to small towns and villages such as Ballyfin, Ballinakill, Rathdowney, Mountrath and Borris-in-Ossory and in south Kildare, places like Monasterevin, Kildangan and Kilberry. Those areas are in bad need of broadband services. The concern is that there will be not only a delay in the procurement but also in the roll-out of the broadband. Can the Minister give a timeline for that?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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This is a very complex contract. The contract paperwork runs to approximately 2,000 pages. I am in regular contact with the team that is managing this to make sure there is no delay within the competency of the Department, but the three bidders have sought additional time for this process. The last thing I want to see happen is that we would award a contract and spend the next five years in court deciding who will carry out the work while rural Ireland is left without high-speed broadband.

I am doing a number of things. First, I am intensively monitoring this process to make sure there is no delay on our side and I am encouraging and putting as much pressure as possible on the bidders to turn around their aspect of it as quickly as possible within the confines of the procurement process in which we are involved. Second, we are trying to facilitate the private telecommunications companies in rolling out their network and plans. They are spending approximately €1.7 million on average a day at present. I want to facilitate them in rolling that out quicker with respect to mobile, wireless and fixed-line broadband services.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I mentioned the issue of quality and I am glad to hear the Minister is monitoring it. It needs to be monitored and rolled out very quickly. The issue of broadband quality is essential. We need high-speed broadband that will require fibre-to-the-home because of modern demands in terms of business and students' needs. That is what the industry has told us.

A further concern is that one of the three preferred bidders is trying to capture part of the market before the contract is awarded. One of the Minister's ministerial colleagues raised concerns about this. Eir seems to be creating a situation where doughnut areas are being created around certain towns and centres where there is broadband connectivity and it is also cherry-picking where it will serve in terms of the rural areas. If one of the providers is cherry-picking places in the yellow area, that will make it very difficult competitively for the other bidders to roll out the scheme. I am not sure what the Minister can do about that but this matter must be examined and the Minister must intervene.

My other question relates to the timeline. Once the procurement process is done, we need a date for its completion and a timeline for roll-out of quality broadband. I ask the Minister to intervene with regard to the issue that has arisen in the past six months and revert to Members on it because it is of serious concern. The three bidders are big boys and girls and they are able to fight their own corner but their concern is that if they engage in cherry-picking, inevitably they will distort the process and make it difficult for others to go into the market. Some areas will be left behind regardless of whether the Minister and I like it.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy has exceeded his time. The Minister has one minute to reply. We have to have some control with regard to time.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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On the concerns the Deputy has raised regarding the potential for cherry-picking and the "doughnutting" effect he spoke about-----

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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Doughnut areas are being created around the towns.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I live in rural Ireland. My constituency and native county have the worse broadband coverage in the country. I am very conscious of all of these issues. My Department is conscious of all of these issues. This is a matter on which we are actively engaged on an ongoing basis.

On the issue of quality, the Deputy made the point that families need fibre-to-the-home now. Anecdotal evidence I got from some rural families that were offered fibre-to-the-home indicates they have said it is too expensive and that they have 4G, which is sufficient to meet their needs. The reality is that families currently do not need fibre-to-the-home. Some businesses may need it but what we are putting in place is a network for the next 25 years. I have no doubt, and it may be in five or ten years' time, that fibre-to-the-home is required but we are making sure that this network is future-proofed. What we are doing in the short term, however, is providing a basic level of service that meets families' needs, whether it is to do with downloading information from the Internet or accessing Netflix or video content, to ensure they have the capacity to do that. The mobile phone and broadband task force will deal with some of those problems in the short term.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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There was also the issue of doughnut areas being created around towns.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I advise the Minister and Members that there are 13 minutes allowed for two questions. We have used up almost 19 minutes. Other Members will want to come in. I ask them to assist me and keep an eye on the clock because I do not want to be intervening.