Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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460. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties being caused to rural businesses and rural communities by the lack of high speed broadband in counties Roscommon and Galway (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27473/18]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I am acutely aware of the impact that a lack of reliable high speed broadband has on people throughout Ireland, including in Galway and Roscommon. The Government's NBP aims to 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. Today, 7 out of 10 of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland have access to high speed broadband. By 2020, 9 out of 10 premises will have access to a high speed broadband connection. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention.

The Intervention Area for the State led intervention, coloured AMBER on my Department's High Speed Broadband Map (www.broadband.gov.ie) shows those premises that will not receive this service without Government intervention.  Information on specific categories of premises can be accessed by entering the relevant eircode into the Map.

There are over 38,500 premises in Co Roscommon of which 47% of premises (c.18,000) are in the Intervention Area and will be part of the State led Intervention under the NBP.  The remaining 53% of premises (over 20,500) will be served by commercial operators. 12% of Roscommon premises are still due to receive high speed broadband under eir’s ongoing planned rural deployment, which has already deployed to around 3,400 premises in the county.

There are over 134,000 premises in Co Galway of which 29% of premises (c. 39,000) are in the Intervention Area and will be part of the State led Intervention under the NBP.  The remaining 71% of premises (c. 95,000) will be served by commercial operators. 11% of Galway premises are due to receive high speed broadband under eir’s planned rural deployment, which has already deployed to around 13,800 premises in the county.

A full set of county statistics are available at www.broadband.gov.ie.

Information on eir's planned rural deployment is available at.

Data for Q1 2018 recently submitted by eir to my Department indicates that the company passed more than 145,000 premises nationwide as part of its ongoing deployment. Officials from my Department  continue to meet with eir on monthly basis to review the company’s performance on their ongoing rural deployment project in line with their obligations under the April 2017 Commitment Agreement.  eir has signalled that there would be likely knock-on effects to the 2018 milestone targets due to the severe weather impacts of both storms Ophelia and Emma. I have met with the senior management in eir and expressed to them the importance of implementing measures to catch up with milestone targets as a priority. 

My Department is in a formal procurement process to select a company who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network in the State intervention area. That procurement process is now in its final stages.

For those premises currently awaiting access to high speed broadband, practical initiatives will continue to be addressed through the work of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce to address obstacles and improve connectivity in respect of existing and future mobile phone and broadband services.

Under this Taskforce, engagement between telecommunications operators and local authorities through the Broadband Officers is continuing to strengthen.  These Broadband Officers are acting as single points of contact in local authorities for their communities.  The appointment of these officers is already reaping rewards in terms of ensuring a much greater degree of consistency in engagements with operators and clearing obstacles to developing infrastructure. The Department of Rural and Community Development maintain a list of Broadband Officers, a link to which is available on my Department's website athttps://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/communications/topics/Broadband/national-broadband-plan/Pages/NBP-Information-Leaflets.aspx.