Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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73. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the mobile and broadband communications projects being undertaken with Mayo County Council and the national broadband plan (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29515/20]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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80. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he is taking to address issues in relation to broadband (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29516/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Question Nos 73 and 80 together.

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract signed last November to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools.The NBP network will offer users a high speed broadband service with a minimum download speed of 500Mbps from the outset. This represents an increase from the 150Mbps committed to under the Contract. The deployment plan forecasts premises passed in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years.

As of 28 September, design work is complete or on-going in target townlands across 23 counties and steady progress is being made with over 98,000 premises surveyed to date. This activity is increasing week on week and NBI expects to have completed some 120,000 surveys by the end of the year. This activity involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area. This is informing design solutions for provision of the fibre network.

The Question refers to a construction company in Turlough, Castlebar, Co Mayo that is experiencing communications difficulties. Without a specific eircode it is difficult to provide a definitive reply. However, I can advise that in terms of the village of Turlough, the western portion of the village is within the NBP State intervention area. This area has been surveyed and detailed designs for the network are currently being developed.

In terms of The National Museum of Ireland in Turlough, this is located within an area where commercial operators are delivering high speed broadband or have indicated future plans to do so . My Department defines high speed broadband as a connection with minimum speeds of 30Mbps download and 6Mbps upload. There may be a choice of operators offering this service in the area referred to and further information in this regard is available at www.comreg.ie/compare/#/services

Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. Some 155 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through service provider contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly available sites and by the Department of Education and Skills for schools. Locations in Mayo in areas such as Taugheen, Bofeenaun, Islandeady and Killaser Community Centres were chosen by the Department of Rural and Community Development in conjunction with Mayo County Council and are all installed and due for connection shortly.

Since 2016, my Department has collaborated with Mayo County Council through the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce, which has been a driving force for improving access to telecommunications services nationwide. It has completed over 70 targeted actions to alleviate connectivity barriers, and continues to tackle issues impeding the rollout of essential infrastructure in rural areas, including in County Mayo. The Taskforce will continue its work in the context of its inclusion in the Programme for Government, in ensuring access to high quality telecommunications connectivity across Ireland to support social and economic development.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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74. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the roll-out of the national broadband plan will be expedited; if an area in County Kerry (details supplied) will be prioritised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29291/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Question refers to a premises which is located 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 area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led intervention, the contract for which was signed in November last with National Broadband Ireland (NBI). The NBP network will offer users a high speed broadband service with a minimum download speed of 500Mbps from the outset. This represents an increase from the 150Mbps committed to under the Contract.

The deployment plan forecasts premises passed in all counties within the first 2 years and over 90% of premises in the State having access to high speed broadband within the next four years. As of 28 September, design work is complete or ongoing in target townlands across 23 counties and steady progress is being made with over 98,000 premises surveyed to date. This activity is increasing week on week and NBI expects to have completed some 120,000 surveys by the end of the year.This activity involves physically walking the routes and documenting images, notes and measurements of the poles, cables and underground ducts in each area. This is informing design solutions for provision of the fibre network. This detailed design is then used to initiate the ‘make ready’ project with eir for the area, where eir ensure any poles and ducts being reused are fit for purpose. It is also used to initiate works with the subcontractors deploying the actual fibre in the area. 

In Kerry 6,500 premises have been surveyed to date in areas around Tralee such as Curraheen, Abbeydorney, Kilflynn, Firies and in areas around Killarney including Muckross, Fossa, Kilcummin, Lissivigeen, Ballycasheen, Faha, Firies and Ballyhar. 

NBI provides a facility for any premises within the AMBER area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website ().

Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) are a key element of the NBP providing high speed broadband in every county in advance of the roll out of the fibre to the home network. Some 155 BCP sites have been installed by NBI and the high speed broadband service will be switched on in these locations through 'service provider' contracts managed by the Department of Rural and Community Development for publicly available sites and by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) for schools.

In Kerry, a number of schools in the Intervention area, Coars National School, Boheeshil National School, Gap of Dunloe National School will be connected for educational access as part of this initiative. My Department will work with DES to prioritise the remaining schools to be connected over the term of the NBP. The public will be able to benefit from this service at locations across the county such as Kielduff, Valentia Island, Gneeveguilla (Tureencahill), Inch and Kells Community Centres. Further details can be found at .

While substantial progress has been made to date, the Covid 19 pandemic has had an impact on the delivery of the fibre network. The extent of this impact is currently being assessed and NBI has committed to put in place measures to mitigate the impact in as far as possible. The Covid 19 pandemic has also highlighted the importance of good reliable broadband to ensure that citizens across Ireland can avail of remote working, education and other essential online facilities. This is reflected in the commitments in the Programme for Government where delivery of the National Broadband Plan will be a key enabler to many of the policies envisaged particularly around increased levels of remote working.

The Programme for Government has committed to seek to accelerate the roll out of the National Broadband Plan. In this regard, my Department continues to engage with NBI to explore the feasibility of accelerating aspects of this rollout to establish the possibility of bringing forward premises which are currently scheduled in years 6 and 7 of the current plan to an earlier date. Exploring the potential to accelerate the network rollout is being undertaken in parallel with the measures required to mitigate delays arising as a result of Covid-19.

In April 2020, all major telecommunications providers committed to a number of measures to help people stay in touch and work from home during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, a number of operators have implemented further supports for consumers, such as for students in  education, who require a high data usage package, by increasing data limits on many existing packages and by the introduction of new packages with very high, or unlimited data offerings. The market for mobile packages with very high, or unlimited data offerings, is becoming increasingly competitive and this is positive for all consumers.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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75. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount spent by the State since the signing of the national broadband plan in tabular form. [29345/20]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led Intervention will be delivered by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) under a contract signed last November to roll out a high speed and future proofed broadband network within the Intervention Area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in the nearly 540,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools. The amount spent by my Department on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) since November 2019 is €34.874m and this is broken down as follows: