Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he is concerned about the number of small businesses that do not have access to broadband; the actions that are being taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55450/12]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Considerable progress has been made in recent years in both the coverage and speeds of national broadband infrastructure, with a multiplicity of commercial operators, providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. The Government has also undertaken a number of initiatives to bring broadband to those parts of the country where commercial operators have been unable to offer services. The combination of private investment and State interventions means that Ireland has met the EU Commission’s Digital Agenda for Europe target of having a basic broadband service available to all areas by 2013. The Government, through the National Broadband Plan, which I published on 30 August last year, has recognised that the key imperative now is to ensure high speed broadband availability to all. The Plan commits to high speed broadband availability across the country by ensuring that high speed services of at least 30Mbps are available to all of our citizens and businesses, well in advance of the EU’s target date of 2020.

Ireland is now therefore moving to a new phase of public and private sector investment in broadband in Ireland which will see significantly improved speeds delivered across the country. The National Broadband Plan commits the Government to investing in areas where high speed services are not commercially viable and will not be provided by the market. This will ensure that citizens and businesses, including small businesses, wherever they are located, have a broadband connection which meets their needs to interact effectively with society and business in a digital environment. Implementation of the National Broadband Plan will be complemented by the National Digital Strategy to enhance digital adoption which I will publish shortly. The first phase of the National Digital Strategy will target the small enterprise and the SME sector generally where the current level of online presence may be hindering the sector from availing fully of trading opportunities. SMEs with a strong web presence have been shown internationally to grow twice as quickly, export twice as much and create twice as many jobs as those who have a minimal web presence.