Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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1240. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the rationale for the awarding of the main State broadband contract to a company (details supplied) in such a way that allows it to cherry-pick the service it consequently provides and services stop in the middle of a road, leaving some properties inexplicably with no service. [19066/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Under EU State Aid Guidelines, it is a requirement that Member States thoroughly evaluate commercial plans so as to ensure that State Aid is confined to those areas of well-defined market failure, where investment is unlikely to occur in the near future.

The infrastructure deployment the Deputy refers to is a commercial deployment by eir, a private company. It is not part of the planned State Intervention network. This deployment is part of eir's commercial roll out of high speed broadband to over 300,000 predominantly rural premises, in line with a Commitment Agreement signed with my Department in April 2017. Although the deployment is monitored under the terms of the Commitment Agreement, it is not funded by the State and it is not planned, designed or directed by my Department in any capacity.