Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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163. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the expected take-up rate for the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47446/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention.

The expected take up-rate for the State intervention area in the NBP is a matter for the ongoing procurement process.

More generally, information on broadband connections, including high speed broadband, is available from ComReg through the Quarterly Key Data Report for Q2 2018, available at www.comreg.ie.

Eir reports data to my Department in relation its ongoing rural fibre deployment in accordance with the Commitment Agreement signed in April 2017. According to Quarter 3 2018 figures provided by eir to my Department the company has passed almost 210,000 premises as part of its ongoing deployment and that the take up is in line with the trajectory anticipated by eir when it commenced this commercial investment. The rate of take up along eir's 300k deployment has increased throughout 2018. This increase is expected to continue as eir proceeds to pass and connect further premises every month and as awareness of the availability of high speed broadband improves and retailers offer a choice and variety of communications packages over the network.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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164. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the position regarding contingency planning in the event that the national broadband plan tendering process cannot continue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47447/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The final tender for the contract to roll out the National Broadband Plan State intervention was received by my Department on 18 September and evaluation of that tender submission is ongoing. I do not propose to speculate on the outcome of an ongoing tender evaluation.

The Taoiseach has asked Mr Peter Smyth, the independent process auditor to the NBP procurement to review the process. Mr. Smyth will submit a report to the Taoiseach and to me as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. This review is taking place in parallel with the evaluation being carried out on the Final Tender by the Department’s evaluation team.