Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 295: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to improve broadband service throughout rural Ireland and especially in areas in County Laois in which there is a very poor service. [20066/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The telecommunications market in Ireland has been fully liberalised since 1999 and, since then, has seen the steady growth and development of vibrant well-regulated competition in the provision of the full range of telecommunications products and services. The Government is not a player in this market and can only intervene in cases of market failure. Such interventions, as in the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the recently-launched Rural Broadband Scheme, are subject to State Aid clearance by the EU Commission. Accordingly, the State, when it does intervene in the competitive market, is prohibited from doing so in served areas where it would give rise to an unacceptable level of market distortion.

Between the significant private and public sector investments over recent years there is now a situation where all areas of the country have access to at least a basic broadband service. I am aware however, that there continues to be a small percentage of premises throughout the country that are not currently 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 Rural Broadband Scheme, which is currently open for applications, aims to identify the remaining individual premises in rural Ireland, including county Laois, outside of the NBS areas that are unable to obtain a broadband service and to provide a basic broadband service to those premises, where requested. Information in relation to acceptance of applications and the process of qualification under the scheme is available on my Department's website (www.dcenr.ie ) or through contacting my Department on lo-call 1850 678100. In addition, under the NewERA proposals in the Programme for Government, there is a commitment to co-invest with the private sector and commercial Semi State sector to provide Next Generation Broadband to every home and business in the State.

I recently convened a meeting of the Next Generation Broadband Taskforce (NGBT), which I chair. The Taskforce comprises the CEOs of all of the major telecommunications companies currently operating in the Irish market and CEOs of some Internet Service Provider companies. Its purpose is to discuss how best to deliver the optimal policy environment and to identify a road map for the speedy delivery of high speed broadband across Ireland. The Taskforce will consider issues such as appropriate targets, investment plans, and the role of Government policy and actions in driving and facilitating investment. I expect that the NGBT will be helpful in terms of identifying the optimal policy position to deliver wider customer access to high-speed broadband.