Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 451: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will consider subsidising the cost of enabling Eircom exchanges to provide broadband to customers in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10880/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Ireland's telecommunications market has been open to competition since late 1999 and has succeeded in attracting many of the major international players in addition to a high number of indigenous service providers.

There is no national direct State involvement in the Communications Market. State involvement tends to arise in the provision of services in cases of clear market failure (for example through the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the current Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS). Such interventions are always subject to EU State Aid rules, which require the State to demonstrate market failure and to be technology-neutral and company-neutral in procuring services.

Eircom is a private company and clearly has a major role in the broadband market. It is therefore not possible for the State to in any way subsidise investment in this (or any other company's) infrastructure without distorting competition and breaching EU competition rules.

As a consequence of continued private sector investment and the implementation of the Government's NBS and RBS, Ireland will meet the EU Commission's "Digital Agenda for Europe" target of having a basic broadband service available to all areas by 2013.

With basic broadband services now widely available across Ireland, the challenge is to accelerate the roll out of high speed services. The Next Generation Broadband Taskforce which I convened last summer has an important role to play in this regard. It comprises 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 Taskforce will conclude its deliberations shortly. I intend to consider the findings and recommendations of the report of the Taskforce as quickly as possible 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.