Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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147. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he is aware of the frustrations of rural broadband customers at the apparent delayed response from National Broadband Ireland to the events of storm Éowyn (details supplied); his plans to deliver a reliable and resilient broadband network in the country, particularly in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5770/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the national response to Storm Éowyn, the Inter-Departmental Recovery Group was established. The Group, chaired by my Department, is coordinating actions to restore telecommunications and broadband to those experiencing outages.

The Minister for Tourism, Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD met with industry representatives (including National Broadband Ireland) on 14 February 2025 to discuss the storm impact on telecommunications infrastructure, the industry’s response, restoration works and their plans to improve the networks resilience to emergency weather events.

To accelerate restoration efforts for their network, National Broadband Ireland (NBI) have implemented several measures and been fully mobilised. Crews are currently working across all counties to restore services as quickly as possible.

My officials have been informed by NBI that the following actions have been taken:

• NBI have opened and maintained communication channels with Retail Service Providers, providing real-time updates on completed or scheduled repair works, including notifications when service is restored to end users. This system enables providers to notify end users of any updates or changes in real time.
• NBI mobilised four additional subcontractors, whose efforts in supporting repair and assurance works have been crucial to reconnecting end users as swiftly as possible.
• NBI liaised with existing subcontractors, to ensure that all allocated resources across the National Broadband Plan (NBP) are prioritising storm recovery.
• NBI coordinated the supply of additional materials and equipment to support field teams.
• NBI have engaged five fibre-splicing crews from the UK, to assist with repairs.
• NBI continue to prioritise restoration based on customer impact, and although the volume of fibre breaks is unprecedented, significant progress has been made to date.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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148. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment for an update on the provision of high-speed fibre broadband for an estate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5824/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government – Securing Ireland’s Future, published in January 2025, sets a number of targets which include the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by 2026.

The area of Rosary Gardens, Library Road, Dún Laoghaire is in the BLUE area on the broadband map which is available on my Department's website www.gov.ie/en/publication/5634d-national-broadband-plan-map/.

The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high-speed broadband services. 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.

There may be a choice of operators offering this service in any given area. Further information in this regard is available at www.comreg.ie/compare/#/services.

If a person lives in the BLUE area and after contacting their Retail Service Provider are told they cannot get access to greater than 30Mbps, they should raise a query via the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) webform at and the Department will escalate with the commercial operator to investigate this matter further.

As per records available, I understand that premises in the area in question can now order full fibre gigabit connection with speeds up to 2Gbps. This information and details of retail broadband providers who deliver broadband to premises in the blue area can be found on the Open eir website at .