Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 119, 135 and 141 together.

The premises referred to in the Questions are located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available 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.

I appreciate people's frustration when they are living close to a fibre network but cannot get a connection to that network, particularly given the heightened importance of connectivity during 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 7 January, over 290,000 premises have been surveyed or have surveys underway with over 154,000 premises constructed or under construction across all counties including Kerry. Surveying is complete in the Deployment Areas of Dingle (Ballydavid), Rathmore and Kilgarvan. Pre works are underway in the Deployment Areas of Ballyheigue and Castlegregory and main works are underway in the Deployment Areas of Tralee and Killarney, with over 5,000 premises now available for order or pre order.

I am advised by NBI that surveying is currently underway in the area where the premises at Inch is located, with anticipated date for connection in H2 2022.  NBI has also confirmed that the premises located in the Killarney area had an originally anticipated connection date of August 2021 to October 2021 and the anticipated connection date is now February 2022 to April 2022. Given the scale and complexity of the NBP, any dates issued, whilst based on the best available information at the time, are indicative and are subject to change. Many factors, including those beyond NBI’s control such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can impact the dates communicated.  On December 2021 the premises was opened for pre-order, resulting in the ability for the resident to place a pre-order for service from a range of providers.

Further details are available on specific areas within County Kerry 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.

With regard to the Question raised regarding the estimated NBI network connection times in County Kerry, the network rollout for the National Broadband Plan is divided into 227 Deployment Areas (DAs) across the country.  These are typically an area of approximately 25km in radius and in total they cover 96% of Ireland’s landmass. The architecture of the network design is specifically based on the design of the NBI network coming from the Eir exchanges or the metropolitan area networks (MANs). It is based on an engineering design that allows NBI to reach every premises as quickly as possible working within the confines of how fibre networks are built. Counties are covered by a number of DAs which means there are differing timescales for connection across county areas.

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 7 January, 449 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 installed in County Kerry at Gneeveguilla (Tureencahill), Cable Station, Saint Fiachna's Church, Railway Station Heritage Centre And Community Space, Killeenagh Killenagh, Kielduff Community Centre, Chapeltown, Cillín Liath, Kilmoyley Community Centre, Black Valley (Lady Of The Valley Church). Further details can be found at nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.  

Boheeshil National School, Dunloe Upper, Coars National School, Scoil Náisiúnta Dar Earca, Naomh Charthaigh, Boys National School, Loughfouder National School, Realt Na Maidne, Aghatubrid National School and Scoil Náisiúnta Cillin Liathhave 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 2020 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/.