Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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216. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the planned survey of areas of Beara and Sheep’s head peninsulas under the National Broadband Plan will commence. [19155/22]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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217. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the pending survey of the Kinsale area under the National Broadband Plan will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19156/22]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 217 together. 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 554,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms along with some 679 schools.

I am advised by NBI that as of 31 March 2022, over 312,000 premises have now been surveyed and over 169,000 premises are under construction or complete across 26 counties. I am further advised that almost 60,000 premises are now available to order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 22 counties, with over 41,000 premises passed across 19 counties and available for immediate connection. In addition to the premises completed, build is underway on over 128,000 premises, demonstrating the project is reaching scale.

In County Cork surveying is underway in the Deployment Area of Clonakilty, surveying is complete in the Deployment Areas of Templemartin, Tallow, Kanturk and Fermoy, main works are underway in the Deployment Areas of Midleton and Youghal and network build is complete in the Deployment Area of Carrigaline.  To date over 39,100 premises in County Cork have been surveyed, with over 16,360 premises under construction or constructed and over 6,700 premises now available to order or pre-order. With regard to the areas referred to in the Questions, Beara Peninsula is in the Lauragh Deployment Area and NBI has advised that surveys will be completed in the area in May 2022. Sheep’s Head Peninsula is in the Kilcrohane Deployment Area and NBI has advised that survey is due to commence in the area in H1 2023. Kinsale is in the Kinsale Deployment Area, and NBI has advised that survey is due to commence there in H2 2022.

Further details are available on specific areas within County Cork 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.

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 31 March, 550 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. In County Cork 23 BCP’s have been installed to date.  The site at Riverstick Community Centre is now installed by NBI which is located 15km from Kinsale. Further details can be found at www.nbi.ie/bcp-locations/.

In County Cork 40 schools have been installed by NBI to date 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. Further details of schools in scope are available on the NBI website at www.nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.