Mary Wallace (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the various locations in County Meath in which broadband infrastructure is in place and operational; the position regarding the provision of broadband to the rest of County Meath, including clarification on the estimated timescale regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9783/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of broadband facilities is, in the first instance, a matter for the private sector telecommunications companies operating in a fully liberalised market. A number of factors determine where and when broadband services are offered in any area, including the potential number of customers, the level of investment required and so on. My Department's website, www.broadband.gov.ie, lists all service providers that offer broadband service in County Meath and gives contact details on process for the various service levels on offer.

Eircom has digital subscriber lines, DSL, available from the telephone exchanges in Navan, Kells, Athboy, Duleek, Trim, Bettystown, Ratoath, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne and Ashbourne. The company recently announced plans to extend coverage to Ballivor, Tara and Oldcastle by March 2006. My Department's regional broadband programme is building high-speed open access broadband networks, in co-operation with the local and regional authorities, in almost 120 cities and towns. These networks will be used by the private sector companies to offer true broadband services at competitive prices.

The MANs for Navan and Trim have been approved and they will proceed to detailed design and procurement in the coming months. Proposals have been received for a number of towns in the second phase of the MANs programme, including Athboy, Duleek, Dunboyne, Kells and Laytown-Bettystown, and also for the south Meath broadband corridor linking Ashbourne, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne-Clonee and Ratoath. The MANs are being built in association with the local and regional authorities and will remain in State ownership, an important consideration for the future.

My Department also administers the county and group broadband scheme for smaller towns and rural communities, under which grant aid of up to 55% of set-up costs is available. The programme is driven by the broadband needs of the community and addresses those needs by funding the most appropriate broadband technology for each application. Approval has been granted for a group broadband scheme in Ballivor. We will also roll out broadband to all schools in the county by the end of 2005.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the position regarding broadband in Baltinglass, County Wicklow; if it can be rolled out as a matter of urgency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9785/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of broadband facilities is, in the first instance, a matter for the private sector telecommunications companies operating in a fully liberalised market. A number of factors determine where and when broadband services are offered in any area, including the potential number of customers, the level of investment required, and so on. Eircom recently announced plans to extend broadband coverage to Baltinglass by March 2006.

My Department's regional broadband programme is building high-speed open access broadband networks, in co-operation with the local and regional authorities, in more than 90 towns with a population of 1,500 and above. My Department administers the county and group broadband scheme for smaller towns and rural communities such as Baltinglass, under which grant aid of up to 55% of set-up costs is available. The programme is driven by the broadband needs of the community and addresses those needs by funding the most appropriate broadband technology for each application. The second call for proposals is open until 28 April and full details of the scheme are on my Department's website, www.gbs.gov.ie. We will also roll out broadband to all schools in the county by the end of 2005.

There are 45 different broadband offerings across a variety of technologies, including DSL, wireless, cable, fibre and satellite. Technologies are available to deliver broadband to any part of Ireland. My Department's website, www.broadband.gov.ie, lists eight service providers that offer satellite broadband in the Baltinglass area and gives contact details and prices for the services on offer.