Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

587. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if areas (details supplied) in County Clare will be included in the national broadband scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2678/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The 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. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades. Approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next two years. These very significant investments represent a step-change in the quality of broadband services available.

On the 24 November last, a public consultation on a national high speed coverage map 2016 was launched. 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 30 Mbps from the commercial sector by end of 2016. The areas marked Amber will require the intervention of the State.

The areas of Quin and Newmarket on Fergus, County Clare falls within a Blue area of the map and will therefore have access to high speed broadband services from the commercial sector by the end of 2016. Mooghaun North County Clare is in an Amber area and therefore will be provided with high speed broadband services as part of the State led intervention.

The map allows all members of the public, be they business or residential, to see whether their premises/home will have access to commercial high speed broadband services by end 2016 or whether they will be included in the Government's proposed intervention. It also provides detailed information on over 50,000 townlands in every county in Ireland, including County Clare. 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. This is a requirement under EU state aid rules.

Following the public consultation, towards the end of this year a detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select preferred bidder or bidders. The Department will design a tender in a way that maximises efficiencies and keeps the cost to taxpayers as low as possible. It is expected that the physical build of this network will commence from 2016.

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

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

588. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if public consultation will take place to provide information and an opportunity for feedback on the proposals under the national broadband plan; and the estimated time frame of the implementation of the measures. [2730/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 proposed State intervention under the National Broadband Plan aims to conclusively address Ireland's connectivity challenges, delivering high quality broadband to those parts of rural Ireland that would not otherwise be served by the commercial sector, and ensuring that any network that is built is capable of scaling up to meet both current and future demand. This is a complex intervention that will determine the quality, choice and cost of services in rural areas not just in the next five years, but also for decades to come. Over 700,000 premises are currently in the proposed intervention area and these premises cover 100,000 km of road network.

Detailed public consultation is a key feature of the proposed intervention strategy under the National Broadband Plan. In June 2014, my Department launched a Call for Inputs in relation to technical and other aspects of the proposed strategy. This in turn provided critical information that informed the development of the national high speed broadband map which I published in November.

The publication of the national high-speed broadband map represented a major milestone on the project. The detailed map (which can be viewed on both a national and county level) is publicly available and there is an ongoing facility for stakeholders and members of the public to comment or make submissions. The BLUE areas on the map are based on information provided by commercial network operators. They show where commercial operators have committed to providing high speed services by end 2016. Members of the public can review their area or house on the map and provide feedback, particularly if they have information to suggest they will not have commercial high speed broadband by 2016 for whatever reason particular to their home or business.

In tandem with the publication of the map I also published a detailed consultation paper on the mapping process and this remains open to industry and the public to comment on until the 12th February. Submissions made in respect of this paper will feed in to the on-going work on developing a comprehensive intervention strategy which is scheduled to be completed this summer.

Once approved by Government, the intervention strategy will also be published and will be the subject of further public consultation prior to being finalised. I hope to be then able to move to the formal procurement stage towards the end of this year. The selection criteria that will be used to select the preferred bidder/s will include an assessment of the efficiency and speed of delivery. I am keen to see the implementation begin as quickly as possible and completed at the earliest opportunity. I anticipate that the first homes and businesses will be connected in 2016 and connections will continue thereafter, with the intention of having the final homes and businesses connected within a 5 year period.

Given the scale and importance of the intervention, extensive public consultation is necessary and appropriate. Members of the public and stakeholders can contribute to the latest consultation which is available on the Department's mapping site.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

589. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if high speed broadband roll-out will be expedited in respect of a location (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2781/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The 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. The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades. Approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland are expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next two years. These very significant investments represent a step change in the quality of broadband services available.

On the 24 November last, a public consultation on a national high speed coverage map 2016 was launched. 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 30 Mbps from the commercial sector by end of 2016. The areas marked Amber will require the intervention of the State and includes Tuosist, County Kerry.

The map allows all members of the public, be they business or residential, to see whether their premises/home will have access to commercial high speed broadband services by end 2016 or whether they will be included in the Government's proposed intervention. It also provides detailed information on over 50,000 townlands in every county in Ireland, including County Kerry.

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. This is a requirement under EU state aid rules.

Following the public consultation, towards the end of this year a detailed procurement process will be undertaken in order to select preferred bidder or bidders. The Department will design a tender in a way that maximises efficiencies and keeps the cost of the network build as low as possible. It is expected that the physical build of this network will commence from 2016 with services being available incrementally as the network is rolled out.

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