Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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48. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the projected number of premises that will be passed by 31 December 2022 by the NBI in its roll-out of high-speed broadband; the number that was projected for this date at the time of the signing of the broadband contract with NBI; the steps to be taken to make up lost ground; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55037/22]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I am advised by NBI that, as of 28 October 2022, over 97,000 premises can order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 25 counties, with over 87,700 premises passed across 25 counties and available for immediate connection. Construction is underway across 26 counties demonstrating that the project is reaching scale. To date, the level of connections is increasing on a daily basis and is in line with or exceeding projections.

My Department has worked with NBI to agree an Updated Interim Remedial Plan (UIRP) which recalibrates the targets for 2022 to take account of the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and other delays to the Programme. The revised target is 102,000 premises passed by the end of the contract year in January 2023, compared to the original contracted target of just over 200,000. The focus is to continue to build momentum in the programme, catching up on the delays experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic and planning for acceleration. NBI intends to have over 200,000 premises with build commenced by the end of 2022.

NBI are implementing a number of measures to help lessen the impact that delays have had on the rollout. Such measures include:

- Increasing the rate of pole replacement and duct remediation per month

- Bringing in additional NBI resources

- Earlier procurement of materials used in the build stages

- Bringing in additional subcontractors.

The focus will continue to be on ensuring that the NBI build programme is back on track and is gaining momentum month on month.

NBI has made recent improvements to their website to enhance the provision of information to Oireachtas members. NBI has now completed a suite of changes, creating a portal that will serve as a means for Oireachtas members to proactively search for information relevant to their county/local area. The portal provides an up-to-date picture of NBI’s deployment schedule across the 227 Deployment Areas (DAs) in all 26 counties. A particular county can be selected to view an update of the overall number of premises in the Intervention Area, the overall NBP investment in the county, the number of premises passed and connected to date and the status of each of the Deployment Areas with the anticipated date for connection over the lifetime of the project. The dedicated webpage can be accessed here: www.nbi.ie