Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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64. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which broadband provision throughout the country is progressing as intended; if efforts continue to bridge communication gaps that have become obvious; if he can see a means whereby the provision of broadband throughout all the regions can be maximised in early date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21543/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I know there have been similar questions to this on broadband. It is on the ongoing drive to provide a full scale level of high-speed broadband throughout the country. We have had tremendous success and there are areas where there have been huge improvements. Then there are other cliff-edge areas between those areas which have received no adequate service at all yet. When will we join them all up?

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Ireland's digital connectivity strategy, published by my Department, sets ambitious targets, which include providing a gigabit network to all households and businesses in Ireland by 2028 and access to 5G in all populated areas by 2030, which is high speed and future-proofed. National Broadband Ireland, NBI, is rolling out a broadband network through its contract with the Minister. The intervention area covers in excess of 1.1 million people living and working in more than 560,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 672 schools. NBI is connecting about 4,000 homes each month. NBI expect to have passed in excess of 300,000 premises by the end of 2024, with about 120,000 premises passed each year thereafter until the end of deployment. I am advised by NBI that more than 243,000 premises are passed across 26 counties and available for immediate connection. In excess of 80,200 premises are already connected to the national broadband plan's high-speed broadband network.

My Department has engaged with NBI at every opportunity to explore options that might increase the pace of roll-out. For example, my Department has been working with directors of service and broadband officers from each of the 31 local authorities, the Local Government Management Agency, the County and City Management Association, the Road Management Office and other Departments, where appropriate, to ensure any possible barriers that might delay the roll-out are addressed as soon as possible. Engagement with other bodies such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Rail and ComReg are also undertaken. I understand that NBI is in regular discussions with Eir, which is responsible for the remediation of poles, to increase the rate of pole replacement each month and Eir has responded positively to these requests. NBI has also procured the necessary subcontractors, materials and equipment to support the programme into the foreseeable future to ensure there are no bottlenecks in the supply chain.

The network roll-out for the NBP is divided into 227 deployment areas across the country. These typically measure approximately 25 km in radius and cover 96% of Ireland's landmass. The network is specifically designed based on Eir exchanges or the metropolitan area networks which allows NBI to reach every premises quickly.

Along with the NBP intervention contract, progress is being made by commercial operators in expanding their next generation networks throughout the State and ensuring the targets set out in the digital connectivity strategy are achieved.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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We should recognise and acknowledge the fact the provision of broadband is a massive leap forward in communications in this country. It is hugely important to business and industry, education, hospitals, schools and science in general. It has been speeded up dramatically by the availability of a reliable and adequate high-speed broadband. However, there are chasms in the system still that people do not really understand. They will say the broadband is at the top of the road and has gone by there and the people in the next townland or village are enjoying it. They will say they are all in favour of it but they have none and they cannot do the job they are supposed to do until there is an extension. Insofar as it can be done, can we extend to cover those gaps and blackspots to improve the service overall?

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The nature of the plan is 100% coverage. The country has been divided into 227 areas. The contractor only gets paid when it connects 100% of premises within that area. In other words, it has to pass fibre past every farm, business and home to get its payment. This is not a scheme that leaves people out. It completes by the end of 2026 and at that point 100% of the premises in the intervention area in rural Ireland – 560,000 houses and 1.1 million people – will have access to fibre broadband if they want it. In fact, at that point, at the rate we are going, urban Ireland may not have everybody connected. It is urban Ireland that will have the problem with blackspots unless I devise a blackspot scheme for urban Ireland. In fact, rural Ireland will get there first in 2026 at the current rate of progress. Urban Ireland will be covered by the end of 2028.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I agree entirely. There may be other blackspots that have not appeared just yet, but the lack of appeals on their part should not inhibit us in any way from making the changes the Minister of State referred to in identifying blackspots that need urgent attention and to do it now, insofar as it can be done and thus eliminate many of the delays.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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There are crews working in every county in Ireland. The plan was devised in such a way that, rather than go from one county or province to the next, the whole county would be worked on at the same time. It is not a case that one county or community is being left out. Naturally, with a seven-year plan, there are people who will be passed in year 7 and they will not be as happy as the people who got passed in year 1. Naturally there are borders. Just as there are county borders and areas that have been completed, there will be somebody next door who will not get the connection for a while. I understand that is frustrating for people. That is why I have asked NBI to provide as much information as possible to people on their website so that people can plan and will know how many months away they are from getting their connection and whether they will need to use some kind of stopgap. I agree with the Deputy when he says it does have the effect of revitalising rural Ireland. In the past, the dream was that a factory or employer might come to a village and then there might be some life or some money in the town.

Now people can go home and work from home. They can live close to their families. They can pay a mortgage and can shop locally. They can bring all that business because they can work remotely and bring cash into their rural area.