Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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467. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the options open to secure landline, mobile telephone and broadband services for a property (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3884/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The premises referred to by the Deputy is in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map, which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie. The AMBER areas represent the target areas for the proposed State led Intervention under the NBP. This intervention is the subject of an ongoing procurement process.

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 and I will bring a recommendation to Government in this regard in the coming weeks.

The provision of telecommunications services in Ireland is undertaken by private companies operating on a commercial basis in a liberalised market. As such, my Department is not in a position to advise on the specific telecommunications packages(landline, mobile telephone and broadband) open to specific areas or premises.

The Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, has designated eir as the universal service provider of basic fixed line telephone services, which includes, among other things, an obligation to provide a telephone service in response to any reasonable request at any fixed location in the State.

Comreg also operates a price comparison website at . This site informs consumers on prices and packages of a variety of telecommunications services, including landline, mobile phone and broadband services.

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. 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.