Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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133. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the plans there are for broadband roll out specifically for the Billinter/Bective area south east of Navan and all other rural areas in counties Meath and Westmeath. [21926/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Ireland's telecommunications market has been fully liberalised since 1999 in accordance with the requirements of binding EU Directives. The market has since developed into a well-regulated market, supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators, who provide services over a diverse range of technology platforms. Details of broadband services available in each County, including Counties Meath and Westmeath, can be found on ComReg's website at www.callcosts.ie.

The State can only intervene to ensure access to broadband services in areas where the competitive market has failed to deliver such services, as in the case of the National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the Rural Broadband Scheme. NBS services are available within 26 of the 106 Electoral Divisions in County Meath, including the Electoral Division of Bective, and within 18 of the 92 Electoral Divisions in County Westmeath, the list of which is set out as follows.

With basic broadband services widely available across Ireland, the focus is now on accelerating the roll out of high speed services. The Government’s National Broadband Plan, which I published in August last, aims to radically change the broadband landscape in Ireland 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, and that significantly higher speeds are available to as many homes and businesses as possible.

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. Since the publication of the Plan, investments by the commercial sector are underway in both fixed line and mobile high speed broadband services, particularly in urban and semi-urban areas.

The Government is also committed in the Plan to investing in areas where high speed services are not commercially viable and will not be provided by the market. In an important milestone towards delivery of this commitment in the Plan, my Department has appointed experts to assist it in the design, planning and procurement of the State-led investment. Intensive technical, financial and legal preparations including stakeholder engagement will be on-going throughout 2013 with a view to the launch of a procurement process in 2014.

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 businesses can participate fully in a digitally enabled society.

I would reiterate that the Government remains committed to ensuring that all parts of Ireland, including the Bellinter and Bective areas as well as all rural areas in Counties Meath and Westmeath, will have at least 30Mbps connectivity, through public or private sector investment, as outlined in the National Broadband Plan.

National Broadband Scheme (NBS)

Electoral Divisions (ED) covered by the NBS in Co. Meath

National Broadband Scheme (NBS)

Electoral Divisions (ED) covered by the NBS in Co.Westmeath