John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 228: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the grants schemes in place or to be introduced to provide broadband, wireless or otherwise, to main county towns and villages throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter [30342/06]

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 independent Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. However, it has been clear for some time that the sector has failed to invest in broadband infrastructure at the level necessary to keep pace with the demand for broadband. 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. The grant aid of 90% of the total investment is offered to Local Authorities to build these networks through a combination of NDP and ERDF Funds. These Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) will allow the private sector to offer world-class broadband services at competitive costs.

Twenty-seven MANs have been completed under the first phase and are currently being managed by ENet, the Management Services Entity. The second phase extends the programme to over 90 towns with a population of 1,500 and above that do not have a satisfactory broadband offering from the sector. For rural communities and the hinterlands of larger towns, my Department offers funding under the County and Group Broadband Scheme to enable them to become self-sufficient in broadband, in association with service providers. The scheme is technology-neutral, allowing the community to select the most suitable broadband delivery platform for the area. To date, over 160 projects have been approved for funding under this Programme.

A joint industry/Government fund of €18 million has been established for the Broadband for Schools Programme to resource the provision of high speed broadband connectivity to all primary and post primary schools in the country by end Autumn 2006, at no cost to the schools themselves. 94% of schools have broadband installed to date; the aim is to complete the outstanding schools in the coming weeks. However, I recognise that despite these successes there are some parts of the country where the private sector will be unable to justify the commercial provision of broadband connectivity. I am currently examining options to address the delivery of broadband services to these areas and I hope to be in a position to bring proposals to Government shortly.