John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 260: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when broadband facilities will be installed in Cliffoney, County Sligo; the negotiations that have taken place; the commencement date of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13099/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The provision of telecommunications services, including broadband, is a matter, in the first instance, for the private sector companies operating in a fully liberalised market, regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation, the independent regulator.

The sector has failed to invest at the level necessary to keep pace with the demand for broadband, so my Department's regional broadband programme is addressing the infrastructure deficit by building high-speed fibre based broadband networks, in association with the local and regional authorities, in the major towns and cities. These metropolitan area networks, MANs, are open access fibre-based trunk networks that will allow the private sector to offer world-class broadband services at competitive costs.

Nineteen MANs are now completed, and a further six are under construction, including the Sligo town MAN. Funding for the next phase of the programme will allow the building of MANs in a further 90 towns of 1,500 and above that do not have a satisfactory broadband offering from the sector.

For rural communities and small towns, such as Cliffoney, my Department offers funding under the county and group broadband scheme to enable these communities to become self-sufficient in broadband, in association with the service providers. Full details of the scheme, including application procedures, are on the website www.gbs.gov.ie, and the call for proposals is open until the end of April.

My Department's website, www.broadband.gov.ie, lists nine service providers offering satellite broadband services in Cliffoney, and gives contact details for each company, together with prices for the various service levels on offer.