Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when broadband Internet access will be available in Keel, Castlemaine, County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38690/05]

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, ComReg, the independent regulator.

It has been clear for some time that 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 open access broadband networks, in association with the local and regional authorities, in the major towns and cities. These metropolitan area networks, MANs, will allow the private sector to offer world-class broadband services at competitive costs.

Twenty MANs are now completed, and a further six are nearing completion. The second phase of the programme involves the building of MANs in a further 93 towns with a population of 1,500 and above that do not have a satisfactory broadband offering from the sector. Design and procurement has already commenced in the following six towns in Kerry under phase 2, namely, Tralee, Listowel, Killarney, Dingle, Kenmare and Castleisland.

For rural communities and smaller towns, such as Keel, Castlemaine and the hinterlands of larger towns, 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. To date there are three schemes approved for County Kerry — Tarbert, north Kerry, and Sliabh Luachra. Full details of the scheme, including application procedures, are on the website www.gbs.gov.ie.

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