Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the status of the national broadband plan; the deadline by which 100% of premises will have access to broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30142/17]

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to update the House on the national broadband plan. What deadline now exists for 100% coverage, in line with the various recommendations and promises made on numerous occasions by this and the previous Government?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Government's national broadband plan will provide high-speed broadband access to all premises in Ireland through commercial networks or by State intervention. The plan has catalysed investment so that to date approximately 1.4 million or 61% of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland can get commercial high-speed broadband of a minimum of 30 Mbps. In April, I signed a commitment agreement with Eir, which will provide broadband to an additional 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis. Eir has committed to concluding this work over a 90-week period at an average of 500 premises passed per day. My Department is monitoring this roll-out. 

There are approximately 2.3 million premises in Ireland, of which approximately 542,000 or 23% are located in the intervention area on the map. These premises will require State intervention and are the focus for the procurement process. The remaining premises are located in the blue areas and will be served by commercial operators. A formal procurement process is in train to select a company or companies that will roll out a new high-speed broadband network within the State 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 the bidders during the procurement process.

Shorter-term measures to enhance broadband availability include the implementation of the mobile and broadband task force recommendations and the ComReg auction of the 3.6 GHz radio spectrum band, which resulted in the award of 15-year licences covering urban and rural regions across the country. In addition, I have secured an €8 million provision for RTE to allow it to free up the 700 MHz spectrum band, which is particularly suited to rural environments where the signal can travel long distances. These initiatives should assist in enhancing the quality of mobile phone and data services across Ireland and particularly in rural Ireland. 

My Department's website provides comprehensive information including broadband roll-out information per county, a copy of the Eir commitment agreement and information on the mobile and broadband task force.  

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. Those in the 542,000 homes and businesses in rural areas who do not have broadband, who will not have commercial broadband and whose service will not be enhanced by anything the Minister has said with regard to the mobile world want to know when they can expect to see a tender go to the marketplace. What kind of expectation is there in terms of a completion date? I ask the Minister to set out a timetable for when he expects to see the contracts signed, the work beginning and the work being completed. The fact that the Minister has spent most of the time for his initial reply talking about anything other than that is deeply worrying to me and to the occupants of the aforementioned 542,000 premises. They are really concerned because there is no clarity as to when, or if, the work will be completed. I ask the Minister to confirm that the three tenderers for this work are still interested. Have they indicated whether they are still interested in this project, given the way in which it has been handled by the Department?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Twelve months ago, 52% of premises had access to high-speed broadband. My focus is on delivery and not dates. In 77 weeks' time, 77% of premises will have access to high-speed broadband. During my short period in office, I have ensured that one in every four premises in Ireland, the vast majority of which are in rural Ireland, will have access to high-speed broadband. Many of those premises will have access to speeds of 1,000 Mbps. What we are talking about is a rate of 300 farms every single week getting fibre to their door. That is happening as we speak.

I am a bit disappointed with Deputy Dooley's comment to the effect that the 541,000 premises in rural areas will not be getting anything in the short term. Imagine is rolling out its infrastructure as we speak, providing up to 70 Mbps right across rural Ireland. Last week I was in Longford to launch a new initiative by Eurona Ireland which is providing high-speed broadband to rural areas too. Investment is going on in rural areas and through the mobile and broadband task force, we are assisting the companies that are currently spending €1.7 million per day to ramp up that investment right across rural Ireland in terms of mobile data and wireless broadband services.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot believe what I am hearing. Is the Minister living in the real world? He is starting to believe the press releases from commercial operators who, in an effort to get some publicity for the services they are providing, invited him to cut the tape and he is coming in here, believing he had something to do with it. There was supposed to be a national broadband plan that required State intervention to provide services to 542,000 homes. The initial figure was 700,000. Eir has signed an agreement that effectively says that it will do that on a commercial basis. The Minister and the Department have had no role whatsoever. The Minister has quoted what Imagine and other commercial operators are doing but that is about as relevant as what is going on in Timbuktu with its broadband. The Minister has had no role in it and has done nothing to assist the 542,000 premises, whose occupants expected to have a service provided, supported and funded by the State. The Minister, by his efforts to shift responsibility to somebody else, is calling into question whether the Government is committed to supporting the provision of services to those 542,000 homes. By taking credit for the roll-out on a commercial basis, the Minister is hiding the fact that there are people that the Government has seemingly forgotten about. The Minister is more interested in telling us what other companies are doing in order to hide or mask what the State should be doing.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I will stand over the investment that is taking place. It is taking place because of the work that is going on in the Department and because of the national broadband plan. Deputy Dooley is trying to twist-----

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The national broadband plan is going nowhere.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I did not interrupt the Deputy.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I was talking sense.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Deputy Dooley is trying to twist what the national broadband plan is about. The national broadband plan will deliver high-speed broadband to 2.3 million premises across Ireland on both a commercial and State intervention basis.

In response to the Deputy's specific question, the three tenderers are still interested and are still involved in the bidding process. This is a 25-year contract and it is important that we get it right, not just for tomorrow and the day after but for next year, the year after and for the 25 years ahead-----

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The process started in 2012.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I am not going to stand over a situation where we have signed a contract, like previous Governments have done in the past-----

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Naughten was part of those Governments.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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-----with contractors where the infrastructure, when it was rolled out, was actually obsolete the day it was turned on. We are going to have infrastructure in place right across rural Ireland that will be the most modern in the world. It will be responsive to the needs of rural Ireland over the next 25 years and will put rural Ireland at the fore, not at the tail end of things.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Only if one happens to be in the commercial zone.