Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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49. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress to date on the rural broadband scheme with particular reference to offshore islands, the populations of which rely heavily on suitable connectivity for future sustainability. [41882/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed broadband services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland including those on our offshore islands. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.  This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated.

My Department is engaged in an on-going procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network for the State led intervention. A significant milestone in that procurement process was reached last week with the submission of "Detailed Solutions" by two bidders.  This is the last stage of the procurement process before receipt of final tenders which is expected to occur in early 2018.

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.

It is intended that all premises will have access to services of at least 30 Megabits per second when the procurement process for the State led intervention is completed and the network rolled out.