Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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208. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of households in Donegal that are yet to have their National Broadband Ireland connection restored after storm Éowyn; the reason all connections have not yet been restored; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7461/25]

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

The Minister for 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.

My officials have been informed by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that they are aware of the extensive damage Storm Éowyn caused across Co. Donegal. This follows closely after Storm Darragh, which struck in December from which NBI only exited Storm Mode in mid-January.

NBI have confirmed that the level of faults on their network is on track to return to business as usual by the end of this week.

NBI have restored approximately 97% of the premises since the start of the storm. All strategic community points including schools have been restored in Co. Donegal.

To mitigate the impact of Storm Éowyn and accelerate restoration efforts, NBI has implemented several measures and has been fully mobilised since 24 January, deploying significant resources nationwide. Crews are currently working across Co. Donegal to restore services as quickly as possible.

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

• 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.
• NBI maintain open communication channels with Retail Service Providers, providing real-time updates regarding completed or scheduled repair works, including notifying when service is restored to end users.
• NBI and contractors' field staff have travelled extensively across the country to support the hardest-hit areas and those regions requiring more time for restoration.