Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which a full evaluation has been done as to the total requirement in terms of broadband or other telecommunications investment; if he is satisfied that adequate provision can be made to meet these requirements in full with particular reference to the essential nature of the industry and pivotal role in the context of economic recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37647/11]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 331: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent of any discussion he has had with the regulator to identify any deficiencies in the telecommunications sector with a view to addressing the issues and making the necessary investment provision in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37648/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 330 and 331 together.

The telecommunications market in Ireland has been fully liberalised since 1999 and, since then, has seen the steady growth and development of strong well-regulated competition in the provision of the full range of telecommunications products and services which are broadly capable of meeting the current needs of telecommunications customers.

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 customer access to every home and business in the State. The Next Generation Broadband Taskforce which I convened earlier this year, has an important role to play in this regard.

The Taskforce, which I chair, also comprises Minister of State, Fergus O'Dowd, T.D., the CEOs of all of the major telecommunications companies operating in the Irish market, as well as CEOs of some other companies that provide broadband services. The purpose of the Taskforce is to discuss and report on policy issues and proposals in relation to provision of high speed broadband across Ireland.

The Taskforce, and four Working Groups reporting to it, are considering issues such as appropriate targets, spectrum policy, private sector investment plans, and the removal of barriers (for example local authority way leave processes) in order to facilitate investment. I expect that the Taskforce will help to identify how best to deliver wider customer access to high-speed broadband generally and thereby assist in delivering on the commitment in the Programme for Government.

The Taskforce, which had a further meeting yesterday, will conclude its deliberations shortly. It is my intention to consider the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the report of the Taskforce and to make a submission to Government in this regard. It is my objective to move quickly thereafter to put in place the optimal policy environment for the delivery of high speed broadband.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which broadband is now available in all regions, urban and rural, throughout the country; his plans, if any, to address apparent deficiencies in these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37649/11]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Telecommunications services in Ireland including broadband services are provided by private service providers over various platforms including DSL (i.e. over telephone lines), fixed wireless, mobile, cable, fibre and satellite. ComReg's website www.callcosts.ie provides detailed information on the various private sector telecommunications products and services available on a county by county basis.

In line with State Aid rules, the Government can only intervene in cases where the market has failed to deliver and the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) is an example of such an intervention. The rollout of the NBS network was completed in October 2010 and broadband services are now available to persons with a fixed residence or fixed business in each of the 1,028 designated electoral divisions (EDs) of the NBS Coverage Area.

The Government's other intervention, namely the Rural Broadband Scheme, which will be rolled out next year, is aimed at making broadband services available to individual un-served premises in rural non-NBS areas.

The significant investments which continue to be made by the many private operators in Ireland, together with the targeted State intervention, means that Ireland will reach the EU Commission's "Digital Agenda for Europe" target of having basic broadband available to everybody in advance of the 2013 deadline.

The Government accepts that the widespread availability of high speed broadband is a key requirement in delivering future economic and social development. With basic broadband services now available across Ireland, the challenge now is to accelerate the roll out of high speed services.

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 customer access to every home and business in the State.

In June of this year I established the Next Generation Broadband Taskforce, which I chair and which also comprises the CEOs of all of the major telecommunications companies currently operating in the Irish market and the CEOs of some Internet Service Provider companies. The purpose of the Taskforce is to discuss the optimal policy environment required to facilitate the investment in and provision of high speed broadband across Ireland.

The Taskforce, and four Working Groups reporting to it, are considering issues such as appropriate targets in terms of speed and service, potential barriers to investment, spectrum policy issues and possible demand stimulation measures aimed at increasing overall Internet usage.

The Taskforce, which had a meeting yesterday, will conclude its deliberations shortly. It is my intention to consider the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the report and subject to Government consideration to move quickly thereafter to put in place the optimal policy environment for the delivery of high speed broadband.