Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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583. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if, under the new connecting communities national broadband plan, commercial operators will be required to provide the same level of broadband service to rural areas in their new planned catchment as they already provide in towns and cities; and if they do not provide a better service than what is already available, if there is the possibility that these households could avail of the new Government scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46226/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The Government's National Broadband Plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.On the 24 November last, I launched a public consultation on a national high speed coverage map. This allows all members of the public, be they business or residential, to see whether or not their premises/home is included in the Government's proposed intervention. It also provides detailed information on a county by county basis as to which villages and townlands are to be included.

The map can be accessed at . The areas on the map marked Blue will all have access to high speed broadband services of at least 30mbps from the commercial sector by end of 2016. The areas marked Amber will require the intervention of the State. It is anticipated that speeds of at least 30Mbps will be also delivered through the Government's intervention and the network will be designed to cater for future increased demand from consumers and business.

The next steps in this process will see a further public consultation on a detailed intervention strategy in mid-2015. A detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select a potential preferred bidder(s) towards the end of 2015.

This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government. It aims to conclusively address current connectivity challenges in Ireland.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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584. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of residents and businesses in a number of areas (details supplied) in County Monaghan, where broadband infrastructure is totally inadequate; his plans to bring broadband telecommunications infrastructure up to a modern and appropriate level in those areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46280/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5bn in network upgrades and at least 1.6m of the 2.3m addresses in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services by the end of 2016. In October, two companies announced projects to deliver direct fibre connectivity to approximately 500,000 homes and businesses in every county in Ireland. These very significant investments represent a step-change in the quality of broadband services available. Under EU State Aid guidelines Member States cannot intervene in areas where commercial investors have plans to roll out services.

On the 24th November, I launched a public consultation on a national high speed coverage map. This allows all members of the public, be they business or residential, to see whether or not their premises/home is included in the Government’s proposed intervention. It also provides detailed information on a county by county basis as to which villages and townlands are to be included.

This map can be accessed at . There is a wealth of data and information available here to better inform citizens about the on-going commercial investment in improved broadband services as well as the detail of the Government’s ambitious plan to ensure all parts of Ireland have access to high quality broadband services.

The next steps in this process will see a further public consultation on a detailed intervention strategy in mid-2015.

A detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select a potential preferred bidder(s) towards the end of 2015.

This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for Government. It aims to conclusively address current connectivity challenges in Ireland.