Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Thanks in part to the hard work of our local authority, Longford County Council, and keen, civic-minded community groups, County Longford is awash with top-quality regeneration projects. One of these I wish to discuss with the Minister of State is the Yard Hub in Abbeyshrule, on the banks of the canal. It involves the redevelopment of a derelict site in the hope of creating a new village hub, creating a space for economic and enterprise development and enhancing the first impressions of visitors to the village as they make their way along the Royal Canal greenway. The Yard Hub seeks to provide local people currently commuting with an opportunity to work remotely and to bring activity to the village. The recent pandemic has emphasised more than ever the need to create the space, opportunity and means to work closer to home. It is a measure of the project and perhaps the ambition of its promoters that successful young local entrepreneur Garret Flower, CEO of ParkOffice, is enthusiastically supporting this project. This young tech entrepreneur, who pioneered the world's first parking software, believes the project will foster a creative community of collaboration and self-improvement, focusing on IT learning.

To date, almost €1 million in funding has been set aside for the project. I think the Minister of State will agree that that sounds fantastic, but it now transpires that Eir is unwilling to provide a dedicated fibre connection for this project. The promoters asked the broadband officer with Longford County Council, Christine Collins, who is doing Herculean work, to seek out the connection and now the project promoters have been told that the only connection available to the premises and the project is digital subscriber line, DSL, and that the premises is not passing for fibre of any sort, be it efibre, fibre to the home, FTTH, or even fibre to the cabinet, FTTC. The promoters have also been made aware that the local exchange needs to be upgraded to next generation network, NGN, in order for the hub to be in a position to order a dedicated fibre connection.

We have invested a lot of hope and an awful lot of expectation in Eir and its ability to roll out broadband, and the early indications are certainly not good. I think everybody in the House will agree that this is the type of landmark project that the company should embrace and promote if it is serious about its role in the most ambitious national roll-out plan since electrification. I ask the Minister of State and the Department to engage immediately with the company to ensure that the necessary infrastructure to facilitate a €1 million State investment gets the support it needs and that this hard-working community in rural Ireland deserves.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Flaherty for raising this issue. The provision of telecommunication services is a matter for the relevant service providers operating in a fully liberalised market regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, as independent regulator. Unfortunately, there is no provision for the Minister or Department to instruct a commercial operator to do anything in this context. Decisions on the location of fibre roll-out are a commercial matter for operators. In April 2017, the then Minister signed a commitment agreement with Eir regarding its plans to provide high-speed broadband to 300,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis. This was later extended to a further 40,000 premises. While deployment is monitored under the terms of the agreement signed between the company and the Department, it is not funded by the State and is not planned, designed or directed by the Department in any capacity. A copy of the terms of the commitment agreement is available on the Department's website, where quarterly updates on Eir's rural deployment are also published. Information on Eir's planned rural deployment is available on the Open Eir website.

The footprint of the Yard enterprise hub in Abbeyshrule is within the area covered by this commitment agreement, and I understand that it will be served from the Colehill exchange in County Longford. According to roll-out information available to the Department, the Yard enterprise hub should be able to access a broadband connection from retail service providers offering services on the new Eir network. I am advised that the building being used by the enterprise hub is currently designated as a derelict building and that, as a result, there is no valid GeoDirectory building ID or Eircode postcode available for the building. The location will, therefore, be treated like a new build premises and can be indexed by Eir to the appropriate optical distribution point. Should the owners of the Yard enterprise hub in Abbeyshrule, County Longford, experience difficulties ordering a connection to Eir's new network from any of the retail service providers that are offering services over it, I would encourage them to email the Department at broadband@decc.gov.iewith specific details and officials will look into the matter further.

The Government's national broadband plan will ensure that citizens throughout the entire country have access to high-speed broadband services and that nobody is left without this vital service. The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. Of the 2.4 million premises across Ireland, 77% already have access to high-speed broadband of more than 30 Mbps. Investment in fibre networks provided by commercial operators and the national broadband plan will see 90% of premises across the State served with speeds in excess of 100 Mbps by 2024.

This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and State-led intervention.

It is encouraging to note that several industry players have announced further investment plans in high-speed broadband, including Eir, which has stated it will roll out fibre to a further 1.4 million premises, bringing its fibre deployment to some 1.8 million premises. SIRO is currently completing the first phase of its fibre deployment, which will see 375,000 premises passed with gigabit services. It is actively considering the scope of phase 2 of this project. Virgin Media is offering 250 Mbps as part of a standard offering, with 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps available to many of its customers across the more than 1 million premises it covers. It too is continuing to invest in upgrading its network. Many other network operators and telecom service providers across the State also continue to invest in their networks.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response but, needless to say, it will not fill these project promoters with enthusiasm. I accept that there are other retail players operating in the market, but the view is that Eir fibre is the gold standard. When one works on a project and develops it to the scale of €1 million of State investment, there is a reasonable expectation that the standard of broadband available to it will be the gold standard.

Abbeyshrule is an idyllic village. It is a recent winner in the national Tidy Towns awards. It is a centre for creativity and there are several specialist aviation businesses on its doorstep, operating from the nearby airfield. Enterprise and innovation are eager bedfellows in that part of the country. I pay tribute to the local committee which has worked so hard on this issue, as well as Councillor Mick Cahill, a local county councillor who has helped to advance this project thus far. Their frustration at this turn of events is palpable. It is inconceivable that a company blessed with such a large and lucrative national contract could be so dismissive and unco-operative.

The House will be well aware that this is not the first time we have heard criticism of Eir in recent months. It has been challenged on billing issues and customer service and, increasingly, it is being challenged on its ability to deliver the roll-out of broadband. This latest saga certainly does not bode well. If my premises was flagged amber or worse in terms of the roll-out plan for County Longford, I would be seriously concerned about the ability and eagerness of Eir to ever deliver fibre to my home. We need to hear that Eir will provide whatever infrastructure is required to make this project work as, otherwise, it is a credibility issue for the company and its willingness and eagerness to deliver broadband to rural Ireland.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of good and reliable broadband to ensure that citizens across Ireland can avail of remote working, education and other essential online facilities. This is reflected in the commitments in the programme for Government for delivery of the national broadband plan, which will be a key enabler to many of the policies envisaged, particularly around increased levels of remote working. However, ensuring that all premises across the State have access to quality and high-speed broadband can only be achieved through a combination of commercial investment and a State-led intervention under the national broadband plan. As I mentioned, the level of planned commercial investment in the sector is very encouraging. Eir's rural investment in high-speed broadband is an entirely commercial undertaking. However, the terms of an agreement between the Department and Eir with regard to its plans to provide high-speed broadband to more than 340,000 premises in rural areas on a commercial basis means that the Department should be provided with roll-out information on a regular basis.

I can confirm that new-build properties or properties such as the Yard enterprise hub in Abbeyshrule, County Longford can be indexed by Eir to the appropriate optical distribution point which will enable a service to be provided by the retail provider. Should the owners experience difficulties gaining connection Eir's new network via one of the retail service providers offering services over it, I request that they email the Department. If the Deputy wishes to send me an email on the matter, I will bring it to the Minister and see if we can get this issue resolved. I thank the Deputy for rasing this very important issue.