Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Question No. 413 of 21 February 2012, if he will provide an update on the provision of broadband for a town (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9247/13]

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 combination of private investment and State interventions such as the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) 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.

Under the NBS a service is available to 49 electoral divisions (EDs) in County Clare. The RBS was launched in 2011 and aimed to make a basic broadband service available to un-served premises in rural areas not already covered by the NBS. Commercial service providers were in a position to offer services to almost all applicants who agreed to engage with them, including 30 applicants from County Clare.

In terms of the Government’s initiative to bring high speed broadband connectivity to all second-level schools, I am pleased to advise you that St Joseph’s Community College in Kilkee received connectivity last year under the national rollout of 100Mbps to secondary schools programme.

The Government, through the National Broadband Plan, which I published on 30th 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.

During the preparation of Ireland’s National Broadband Plan, the commercial market operators indicated that they expect to provide 70Mbps to 100Mbps services to 50% of the population by 2015.

The commercial sector is already making these investments in high speed services, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas. The Government is committed in the Plan to investing in areas where high speed services are not commercially viable and will not be provided by the market.

My Department is making preparations to commence a formal national mapping exercise to identify where the market is expected to succeed and fail in the delivery of high speed broadband over the coming years. This will inform the level of Government interaction that may be required and the areas that need to be targeted for a State-led investment. It will also form a critical input to an EU State Aid application in respect of any State-led intervention.

Through the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, we are committed to increasing the availability of next generation speeds significantly, with a view to ensuring that all citizens and business can participate fully in a digitally enabled society. I would reiterate that the Government remains committed to the delivery of the speeds referred to in the Plan, to ensure that all parts of Ireland, including Kilkee in County Clare, will have at least 30Mbps connectivity.