Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 86: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the recent Forfás competitiveness report that placed Ireland 12th out of 14 countries in terms of broadband cost, and 9th in terms of speed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4553/09]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Deputy is referring to Figure 3.39 titled "Fastest ADSL Business Download Speed Available by the Incumbent and Annual Cost, October 2008", which was printed in the "Annual Competitiveness Report 2008", published jointly by the National Competitiveness Council and Forfás.

This is a very specific business broadband product available only from incumbents in the countries included in the survey for this particular figure in the report. It would be inaccurate to suggest that Ireland's ranking for this particular product is representative of broadband costs and speeds.

I understand the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, which publishes a detailed quarterly report on the electronic communications market, will be meeting with Forfás and the National Competitiveness Council to outline the importance of broader, more relevant analysis and reporting of broadband speeds and costs.

The widespread provision of broadband services continues to be a priority for the Government. In that regard my Department has undertaken a variety of initiatives to address the gaps in broadband coverage. These initiatives have helped to facilitate the development of the market to the point where over 60% of Irish households now have a broadband connection. ComReg's quarterly report for Q3 2008 states that 61.1% of those households have a connection in the speed category of 2mbps — 10mbps. At the end of Q1 2008, 83% of Irish SMEs had a broadband connection. Most of those SMEs, 72.6%, according to ComReg's report for Q3 2008, have a connection in the speed category of 2mbps — 10mbps.

As regards the cost of broadband, it is important to note that ComReg, in its last quarterly report (issued for Q3 2008), ranked Ireland in 8th place in the "DSL and Cable basket" used for international comparison purposes and compared favourably with the EU24 average.