Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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1458. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide information on the roll-out of fibre broadband, with reference to a case (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38157/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) will ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location.  The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector so that to date approximately 1.5m or 65% of the 2.3m premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband of a minimum of 30 Megabits per second and this footprint is expanding.

In April I published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available at.  This map shows the areas targeted by commercial operators to provide high speed broadband services and the areas that will be included in the State Intervention Area. The Map is searchable by eircode. 

- The BLUE areas on the Map represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering, or have indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services, 

- The AMBER areas on the Map represent the areas that will require State Intervention and are the subject of a procurement process. 

The premises referred to in the Question falls within the AMBER area on the High Speed Broadband Map and will be covered by the State intervention. With regard to the eir fibre rollout, details of the premises included in that rollout are a matter for the operator and my Department has no input in the process.

My Department is in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State intervention area. That procurement process is now at an advanced stage, with “Detailed Solutions” to be submitted by bidders later this month. The next stage of the procurement process is Final Tenders. 

To improve both mobile and broadband services in rural Ireland in advance of the rollout of the high speed broadband network to be built in the State intervention area, I established a Taskforce to identify immediate solutions to mobile phone and broadband coverage deficits and investigate how better services could be provided to consumers. These solutions will enhance the existing services prior to the full build and rollout of the network planned under the National Broadband Plan State intervention.