Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 550: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the recently announced funding of €13.5m for broadband will include areas (details supplied) in County Galway which is not facilitated for broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29271/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Prior to the commencement of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) a detailed mapping exercise was carried out to help determine those areas that would be included in the scheme and those which, by virtue of being already substantially served by existing broadband suppliers, could not be included.

EU State aid and competition rules govern how states can intervene in areas where there are existing service providers operating. Accordingly, the NBS is prohibited from providing a service in served areas where to do so would give rise to an unacceptable level of market distortion.

That mapping exercise found that at least one existing broadband supplier was already active in the locality which includes the areas referred to in the Deputy's Question and consequently the areas were excluded from the Scheme. Details of broadband services available in each county can be found on ComReg's website at www.callcosts.ie

It continues to be a priority of the Government that there will be broadband coverage across the entire country. However, despite Government and private investment in broadband, I am aware that there continues to be a small percentage of premises throughout the country 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 Programme (EERP) funding for rural broadband initiatives. My Department is currently progressing the design and implementation of a scheme which would use this funding to address the issue of basic broadband availability to unserved rural premises outside of the NBS areas. This work will include the identification of premises not capable of receiving broadband. It is hoped to commence this scheme in late 2010 and have it completed by 2012.

Information in relation to acceptance of applications and the process of qualification under the scheme will be made available in due course when the scheme is launched.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide the electoral divisions in County Laois that have received broadband under the national broadband scheme; the electoral divisions that have yet to be provided with broadband under the scheme; if he will provide a timetable for completion of this work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29428/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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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 more than two-thirds of the 1,028 designated Electoral Divisions ("ED") to be covered under the Scheme.

Details of all the areas to be covered by the NBS, including the status of the NBS rollout, are available at www.three.ie/nbs. Under the NBS contract, all EDs in the NBS Coverage Area must have broadband connectivity by Autumn 2010.

With particular reference to County Laois, all of the designated 28 EDs within the County can now avail of NBS broadband services. The table below lists all of these 28 EDs. National Broadband Scheme (NBS) Electoral Divisions (ED) Covered by the NBS in Co.Laois

ED Name ED Reference No. ARDERIN ED 107003 BALLYBROPHY ED 107010 BALLYLEHANE ED 107013 BALLYROAN ED 107015 BLANDSFORT ED 107017 BRISHA ED 107020 CAHER ED 107021 CARDTOWN ED 107024 CASTLECUFFE ED 107025 CLONMORE ED 107032 COOLRAIN ED 107034 CUFFSBOROUGH ED 107035 CULLAHILL ED 107036 DONORE ED 107041 DYSARTGALLEN ED 107045 EMO ED 107046 ERRILL ED 107047 GARRYMORE ED 107050 GRANTSTOWN ED 107053 KILCOKE ED 107055 KILDELLIG ED 107057 KYLE ED 107063 KYLE SOUTH ED 107064 LACKA ED 107065 MARYMOUNT ED 107067 MONEENALASSA ED 107069 NEALSTOWN ED 107075 RATHASPICK ED 107082

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 552: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the implications of the European Court judgment ruling in a case (details supplied) which found that member states can prohibit telecom providers from imposing a package of services on consumers, such as making broadband services contingent on the conclusion of a contract for telephone services; the action he will take to ensure that providers do not impose telephone landline and other fees on consumers who wish to avail of a broadband service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29480/10]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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The case in question concerns a specific provision in a Polish law of 2004 that prohibits a telecommunications operator with significant power from obliging an end user to subscribe to services which that end user does not require. There is no corresponding provision in Irish national legislation and therefore the Court's ruling has no implications for Ireland.

Under the provisions of the European Union regulatory framework for electronic communications, Eircom is subject to an obligation not to unreasonably bundle its services. This general obligation, which is imposed by ComReg under Regulation 14 of the Universal Service and Users' Rights Regulations 2003, sets out that where Eircom offers a number of services within a bundle, it shall ensure that end-users are able to purchase an individual service included in any such bundle without being required by contractual or non-contractual means to purchase the entire bundle of services and that tariffs for the individual services comprising any such bundle comply with the principle that end-users should not be required to pay for services or facilities which are not necessary for the service requested.

This obligation not to unreasonably bundle is not imposed on any undertaking other than Eircom, as Eircom is the only undertaking with significant market power (SMP) in a retail market. Customers may purchase an Eircom bundle of services or a customer may purchase Eircom's calls separate from broadband. Where a customer obtains either calls or broadband from Eircom it is necessary for the customer to pay for line rental since this is how these services are delivered.

ComReg monitors compliance by Eircom with its obligation not to unreasonably bundle and considers that its regulation of bundles in Ireland is consistent with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-522/08 Telekommunikaja Polska.