Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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87. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide an update on the National Broadband Plan as regards design, build, premises passed and connections made and any works done on catching up on Covid delays and delivering on an accelerated roll-out. [28792/22]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am asking for an update on the national broadband plan, including design, build, premises passed and connections made, and the particular works that need to be done to catch up on the dreadful Covid delays, and delivering on the accelerated roll-out we have spoken about many times before. We all know that this plan has been dogged by many issues. People really require delivery on Internet connectivity and the pressure is on us to ensure it is delivered.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The survey and design work for the new high-speed fibre broadband network under the national broadband plan is complete or ongoing by National Broadband Ireland, NBI, in every county in Ireland. Survey work feeds into detailed designs for each of the 227 deployment areas. I am advised by NBI that as at 20 May 2022, last month, over 327,600 premises have now been surveyed, more than 298,600 premises are designed or in design process, and more than 175,300 premises are under construction or complete across 26 counties, demonstrating that the project is reaching scale. I am further advised that almost 67,700 premises are now available to order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 23 counties, with over 56,600 premises passed across 22 counties and available for immediate connection and almost 11,900 premises connected, demonstrating the project continues to gain momentum.

The Department has worked with NBI to agree an updated interim remedial plan, UIRP, which recalibrated the targets for 2022 to take account of the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and other delays to the programme. The revised target is 102,000 premises passed by the end of January next year. NBI is implementing a number of measures to help lessen the impact that delays have had on the roll-out. Such measures include increasing the rate of pole replacement and duct remediation per month, bringing in additional NBI resources, earlier procurement of materials used in the build stages and bringing in additional subcontractors.

The focus will continue to be on ensuring the National Broadband Ireland build programme is back on track and is gaining momentum month on month.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the fact that when we are talking about premises surveyed, premises designed or in design and premises under construction, the numbers are considerable. That means there is a significant amount of throughput. I am hardly on my own in still being particularly worried about that figure of 56,600 passed whereas we have had multiple targets to hit 60,000 at the end of January and the end of March. The plan is to reach 102,000 by the end of January next. We need to make sure that target is at least met. Beyond that, I will need information.

At one stage, we were talking about catch-up on the Covid delays over the next two years. It happened fairly quickly. Beyond that, we were talking about an acceleration of the seven-year project. Initially, we thought we could bring it down to five years. The conversation is now about six years. It is a matter of ensuring that happens and then the interaction between NBI and Eir in relation to delivering that.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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First, I will give Deputy Ó Murchú further details, maybe on his own county, County Louth, to give an example of more precise figures. As of 29 April last, more than 7,800 premises had been surveyed in the county with over 4,000 premises under construction or complete, almost 3,200 premises available to order or pre-order, and almost 2,500 premises passed and available for immediate connection. That is real and immediate. It is there today, here and now.

I would agree with the Deputy's closing comment about the need for real co-ordination between Eir and NBI. It is critical to the success and acceleration of this project. I had a meeting with the chief executive and chairman of Eir recently. We made the case, and they readily agreed, that the flexible fast operation between their contractors and National Broadband Ireland and the dovetailing between those two organisations to get poles up, to get ducts cleared and to get the process really moving fast will be key. My Department, NBI and Eir are working on an ongoing basis to make sure that happens.

I have had ongoing experience with SIRO. It is an example of another similar project involving the large-scale deployment of fibre. In many of these projects, it takes time to get up to speed. It is typical in large complex infrastructure projects such as these that in the first year or two - we were hampered by Covid - it takes time to work out the mechanism or the physical way of deploying the fibre. That is what is happening in the NBI plan, as happened in other big infrastructure projects. I am confident we will deliver for the Irish people.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I accept, particularly in the beginning, that problems arose specific to the pandemic. We all know that in big infrastructural projects one gets better as one goes along. That is accepted, but it is a matter of ensuring that this happens.

I have had conversations with NBI. It is obviously looking for what it terms "a self-install product" which would give it a greater capacity in relation to delivering on part of the build. Its conversations, as far as I understand, with Eir are that Eir has increased its capacity to make sure it catches up with the Covid delays so that we can deliver a seven-year project but it will be insufficient to deliver on an acceleration of a year. I think there are legal issues. I am merely looking for an update on where that conversation is, on whether we can deliver the self-install product, on whether Eir will increase its capacity and on where we are on putting it on a contractual basis to ensure that we get delivery in six years. Where people have been delivered fibre, it is absolutely brilliant. It is about all those who are not connected.

I also welcome the fact ComReg is working on offering people alternatives in their areas if they will be waiting another four or five years.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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That is exactly right. ComReg is right to be looking at other innovate ways in which we can provide coverage. The more universal and the quicker we can get universal coverage the better. The Department, as I said, NBI and Eir are looking at a range of different ways in which we can accelerate and dovetail the work of the various organisations.

One of the other issues, which, coming out of Covid, is deeply frustrating, is that across so many sectors in the economy, it is hard to get contractors. It is hard to get many of the people one might need even for the most basic task, such as putting up poles or other contract equipment. Many of the same contractors that would be engaged in this project would also be engaged in other projects ongoing in the State, for instance, putting in renewable power and in retrofitting a range of different resources. One of the real issues is the scaling-up of our contracting capability, particularly in regard to physical infrastructure. That is one of the key issues that we are working on to try to accelerate and help.