Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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55. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he has taken to date to accelerate the roll-out of the National Broadband Plan; the emission reduction impact of an accelerated roll-out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42298/21]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, 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 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 over 544,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with 695 schools. I am advised by NBI that, as of 27 August, over 249,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed with over 92,000 premises under construction. 

While substantial progress has been made to date, the Covid 19 pandemic has had an impact on the delivery of the fibre network resulting in delays to aspects of the programme. Impacts include challenges with mobilisation of key contractors, restrictions on operations, supply chain and logistic delays (both nationally and internationally).  Covid 19 has affected the recruitment of key personnel as NBI and its contractors scale up including challenges associated with on-boarding and training people. Inevitably, like many other organisations, NBI and contractor staff have been at risk of contracting Covid 19 or may have had to restrict their movements as a result of being a close contact posing further challenges. The full extent of this impact is currently being assessed and NBI has committed to put in place measures to mitigate the impact in so far as possible.

The Programme for Government commits to seek to accelerate the roll out of the National Broadband Plan. The Department continues to engage with NBI to explore the feasibility of accelerating aspects of the NBP 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. As part of that work NBI is engaging with all current build partners to bring forward build activities and is also actively reviewing other possible build partners where such options could also speed up the build process. My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the NBP. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced in December which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026.  Further details are available on the NBI website at

nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.

The National Broadband Plan State led intervention has been designed to ensure that as much as possible of the network infrastructure will comprise the re-use of existing poles and ducts, which NBI will lease from existing infrastructure owners. Infrastructure re-use in this manner ensures the State complies with State Aid guidelines and environmental sustainability best practice.

Deployment of the NBP has the potential to deliver a range of environmental benefits linked to Government policy and cloud services as well as reduced emissions from teleworking and business travel. The Cost Benefit Analysis behind the business case for the Government decision to proceed with the NBP highlighted environmental benefits among a variety of other economic and social benefits.  However it did not set out to specifically forecast the impact of the NBP on emissions.  My Department will be looking at this in more detail, in due course, when assessing the benefits that are being delivered on foot of the ramping up of investment including any acceleration of the plan.