Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

459. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the extent to which high speed modern broadband is likely to become readily available in all areas throughout the country, urban and rural, within the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16754/15]

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 and enhanced services with approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland 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.

Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. This map is available at . The areas marked BLUE represent those areas that will have access to commercial high speed broadband services by end 2016.

The AMBER areas show the target areas for the State intervention.

Members of the public can consult the map to establish for themselves the precise location and status of their individual premises.

Intensive design and planning work is underway in my Department to produce a detailed intervention strategy for the AMBER area. Following a public consultation process on the draft Intervention Strategy this summer, I hope to move to formal procurement phase towards the end of this year in order to select a preferred bidder or bidders.

I anticipate that the first homes and businesses will be connected in 2016 and connections will continue thereafter, with the intention of having all premises connected within a five year period.

This complex and ambitious project, coupled with susbtantial commercial investment aims to conclusively address broadband connectivity issues in every part of Ireland.