Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)
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Question 506: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his position regarding the provision of broadband for a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary; the reason for delay in providing the infrastructure; the timeframe for providing same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28593/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to inform the Deputy that the school in question has had a satellite broadband connection since January 2006. In June 2008 at the schools request, the satellite dish was removed during building works, and as there was no alternate location available, the satellite dish was temporarily stored. During this downtime the National Council for Technology in Education (NCTE) investigated the possibility of providing the school with DSL broadband, but unfortunately the school lines failed the DSL Broadband test and therefore satellite was still the only broadband option available to the school. In March 2009, as the building works were completed, the school agreed to the reconnection of the service. Following some delays and the replacement of some faulty equipment parts, the Satellite broadband service was restored at the beginning of May this year and, I am informed, has been operating normally since then.

My Department is currently evaluating tenders from Service Providers for Phase II of the Schools Broadband Programme and the broadband connections for some schools may be reviewed or upgraded depending on the results of that process.