Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1280. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a proposal (details supplied) by Monaghan County Council will be considered. [55255/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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In April I published an updated High Speed Broadband Map which is available atwww.broadband.gov.ie.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 under the National Broadband Plan (NBP). The Map is colour coded and searchable by address/eircode:

- The  AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP and are the subject of an ongoing procurement process. 

- The BLUE represent those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. 

- The Light BLUE areas represent eir's commercial rural deployment plans to rollout high speed broadband to 300,000 premises by the end of this year as part of a Commitment Agreement signed with me in April.

There are approximately 33,000 premises in Monaghan. Just over 15,600 (47%) fall within the AMBER area and will be covered under the State led Intervention. Nearly 14,000 (42%) of premises are in a BLUE area and are, or will be, covered by commercial providers, while approximately 3,500 (11%) are LIGHT BLUE and fall to be covered by eir's planned rural deployment.

Under this rural deployment, eir is bound to provide access to the premises included in the LIGHT BLUE areas of the Map, including the 3,500 premises in Co Monaghan.  My Department is in regular contact with eir in relation this work and will continue this engagement with the aim of ensuring the requirements of the Commitment Agreement are met.  According to information submitted to the Department as of September 2017, eir has already passed over 1,200 premises in Monaghan as part of their rural deployment of high speed broadband.