Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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76. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timeline for the completion of tenders submitted for the national broadband plan. [53177/18]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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82. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the national broadband plan. [53134/18]

Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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91. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timeline for the commencement of works on the ground under the national broadband plan and the measures contained within same to ensure rapid roll-out of broadband services for rural areas, rural communities and regional towns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53185/18]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when a contract will be signed for the national broadband scheme, which will bring high-speed broadband to over 500,000 premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52793/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 76, 82, 91 and 98 together.

The NBP aims to ensure high speed broadband access (minimum 30 megabits per second) to all premises in Ireland, regardless of location. This is being achieved via a combination of commercial investment and a State led intervention.

The NBP has been a catalyst in encouraging investment by the telecoms sector. In 2012, less than 700,000, or 30% of all 2.3 million Irish premises had access to high speed broadband. When this Government came into office, this had risen to 52%. Today, 74% of premises can access a high speed broadband service.

Commercial operators have invested over €2.75bn in upgrading and modernising their networks over the past 5 years, and further investments are planned.

Under a Commitment Agreement signed with my Department in April 2017, eir is in the process of passing 300,000 predominantly rural homes with high speed broadband. According to data for Q3 2018 submitted by eir to my Department the company has passed almost 210,000 premises nationwide as part of its ongoing deployment.

The procurement process to appoint a bidder for the State intervention network is now at the final stage. My priority is to bring the procurement process to a fair and impartial conclusion as quickly as possible. My Department will now conclude its assessment of the final tender submission received from the bidder on 18 September 2018 and I will bring a recommendation to Government in the coming weeks.

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.