Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps he is taking to provide broadband coverage to areas not serviced by the national broadband scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9945/10]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the position regarding the implementation of a scheme funded by the European Economic Recovery Programme to access broadband in rural areas; the action he is taking to ensure 100% broadband availability here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10092/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 99 together.

My Department entered into a contract with "3", a Hutchison Whampoa company, for the delivery of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) in late December 2008. Since then, 3 has progressed its network rollout and NBS broadband services are now available in almost half of the 1,028 designated Electoral Divisions (ED) to be covered under the Scheme. Under the NBS contract, all EDs in the NBS Coverage Area are required to have broadband connectivity by end September 2010.

It is accepted that even after the full roll-out of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) there will still be a small percentage of premises outside of the Electoral Divisions covered by the scheme that will not be capable of receiving broadband services. This is primarily due to technical and other reasons (suitability of a telephone line, distance from an enabled exchange, no line of sight etc.).

The European Commission has set aside a portion of the European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) funding for rural broadband initiatives. In this context, my Department is currently considering the detailed design and implementation of a scheme which would utilise these funds to address the issue of broadband availability to unserved rural premises outside of the NBS areas.

One of the key issues to be resolved in adopting a scheme to address this issue is the identification of potential beneficiaries under the scheme. The scheme can apply only in rural areas and can not apply to those areas already covered by the NBS. The scheme will also not be available to people who already have a service available to them.

My Department will be consulting with existing Internet Service Providers to ensure that the scheme does not encroach on their existing customer base.

It is hoped to commence the scheme this year with the identification of premises not capable of receiving broadband. State Aid approval has been granted by the European Commission as part of the overall process of securing the necessary approvals and funding for the scheme.