Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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221. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the reason that a road (details supplied) has been excluded from the intervention area for the National Broadband Plan, particularly in view of the fact that a number of hospitality businesses are located there and broadband speeds from the private provider are too slow to cater to their needs; when this road will be included in the NBI intervention area; the analysis which has been carried out into the possibility of including this road in the intervention area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46314/21]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The road referred to in the Question is located in the BLUE area on the NBP High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website at www.broadband.gov.ie.

BLUE areas are not included in the State intervention area covered by the National Broadband Plan as commercial operators are already providing 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. The activities of commercial operators delivering high speed broadband within BLUE areas are not planned or funded by the State and my Department has no statutory authority to intervene in that regard.

Complaints about service provision are a matter to be dealt with between the consumer and the service provider in the first instance. If this avenue has been exhausted without a satisfactory resolution, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) may be able to assist further. ComReg is the independent body that issues licences to broadband service providers and investigates complaints to make sure that companies are delivering services in line with their licence obligations.

Notwithstanding this, my Department has undertaken an initial investigation into the matter and I understand that the road referred to is connected to the local exchange in Cong and therefore premises on this road should be able to access high speed broadband from a commercial operator.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will meet with a cross party delegation of county councillors and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas from County Donegal to discuss serious concerns regarding the current timeframe for delivering high speed fibre broadband under the National Broadband Plan to the thousands of homes still not connected in the county; and if his office will liaise with Donegal County Council to confirm such a meeting at the earliest opportunity. [46342/21]

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 some 699 schools. The NBP roll out is currently a 7 year plan under the contract and deployment is due to be complete by the end of 2026. There are 32,734 premises in the Intervention Area in County Donegal that will receive access to high speed broadband under the National Broadband Plan. Government investment in Donegal in the NBP will be in the order of €128 million. I am advised by National Broadband Ireland that, as of 17 September, some 7,388 premises in County Donegal have been surveyed. Surveying is the first step towards delivering the new fibre network and informs design solutions for provision of the fibre network.

In addition to the challenges to the delivery of the NBP due to the Covid-19 pandemic, NBI has faced a range of other challenges due to the sheer scale and complexity of rolling out fibre to the home in a rural environment. These include significant tree trimming to ensure cable can be placed on overhead poles, remediation of ducting that has been in place for many decades, the co-ordination of hundreds of contracting crews and addressing the many issues arising week on week which could not have been foreseen until the build crews commenced work on the ground. My Department has worked closely with NBI to put in place a remedial plan under the Contract. This plan addresses delays experienced by NBI, primarily arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and re-baselines milestones for 2021. Work is underway to re-baseline milestones for 2022 and beyond.

While delivery of the Programme is the responsibility of NBI under the Contract, my Department continues to monitor delivery very closely in accordance with the Department’s role under the contract. In parallel with the ongoing oversight of the contract with NBI, the Department has also been working with the 31 Local Authorities, the County and City Management Agency (CCMA), the Roads Management Office (RMO), Broadband Officers and other Government Departments, where appropriate, to ensure that any possible barriers that might delay the rollout are addressed as soon as possible. This also includes engagement with other bodies such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Rail and ComReg.

I also understand that NBI has had engagement with elected representatives from Donegal in relation to the roll out of the National Broadband Plan in recent months and I have asked NBI to ensure that this outreach continues. My officials and I are also available to meet with elected representatives in relation to matters falling under the remit of the Department.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will address a situation in which a number of properties are struggling to get connection to adequate broadband and the installation date has been pushed back yet again by NBI (details supplied). [46349/21]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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239. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will urgently address extended connection timeframes (details supplied) currently being provided by NBI. [46782/21]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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240. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will examine the potential availability of fibre broadband to a group of homes (details supplied). [46698/21]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223, 239 and 240 together.

The Questions all refer to premises located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website 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.

I appreciate people's frustration when they are living so close to a fibre network but cannot get a connection to that network, particularly given the heightened importance of connectivity as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The NBP will ensure that in all such cases a future proofed high speed broadband network will be built to serve these premises and work to deliver on this is underway.

I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 17 September, over 257,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed. Surveys are complete or underway in County Westmeath in Mullingar, Sonna, Stonehall, Taghmon, Jamestown, Hopestown and Athlone. Pre-build works have commenced in the areas around Mullingar.

Further details are available on specific areas within County Westmeath through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.

In addition to the challenges to the delivery of the NBP due to the Covid-19 pandemic, NBI has faced a range of other challenges due to the sheer scale and complexity of rolling out fibre to the home in a rural environment. These include significant tree trimming to ensure cable can be placed on overhead poles, remediation of ducting that has been in place for many decades, the co-ordination of hundreds of contracting crews and addressing the many issues arising week on week which could not have been foreseen until the build crews commenced work on the ground. My Department has worked closely with NBI to put in place a remedial plan under the Contract. This plan addresses delays experienced by NBI, primarily arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and re-baselines milestones for 2021. Work is underway to re-baseline milestones for 2022 and beyond. This has resulted in some changes to timeframes for connection for end users.

Given the scale and complexity of delivery of the new high speed broadband network under the NBP, I am advised that any dates provided by NBI on its website are based on the best available information at the time and may be subject to change. NBI has recently published details of its full deployment schedule on its website, www.nbi.ie, which enables all premises within the intervention area to have an anticipated service activation date range.

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. As of 17 September, 373 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 accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. BCP’s are connected at Castledaly Community Centre, Ballycomoyle GAA Club, Milltown Emper Community Centre, Whitehall Community Centre, Streete Parish Park & Community Hall, and Clonkill Hurling Club. Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.

Naomh Micheal, Scoil Náisiúnta Bhride, and Scoil Náisiúnta Aodha Naofa have been installed by NBI for educational access. 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/.