Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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155. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the current position on the rollout of the national broadband scheme; the coverage per county; the timeframe on areas not covered; the role his Department takes on ensuring access to broadband in rural communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14931/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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In December 2022, the Digital Connectivity Strategy for Ireland was published and it sets out a number of targets including that all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028. This target is on track and will be met through a combination of commercial investment and State funding.

The Programme for Government – Securing Ireland’s Future, published in January 2025, sets a number of targets which include the completion of a high-speed fibre network to provide broadband access to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by the end of 2026. The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Government's initiative to deliver high speed broadband services to all premises in Ireland. There are over 564,000 premises in the Intervention Area (IA). Design work has been completed by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) at 560,347 of all premises (99%) in the IA. There are 119,018 of those premises (35%) in the IA connected. 357,677 premises (63%) in the IA can order or pre-order broadband from NBI across all counties in mainly rural areas. NBI have also passed 344,819 premises (61%) in the IA.

NBI are connecting around 4,000 premises to their fibre network per month. NBI expect to have passed over 420,000 premises by end of 2025, which will be 70% of the premises in the Intervention Area.

The latest information on when high-speed broadband will become available to areas which are to be served by the network deployed under the NBP State led intervention can be found on National Broadband Ireland’s (NBI) website at nbi.ie/map/. This website is regularly updated providing the expected timeline for delivery and status of any works that are initiated at any point in time.

NBI also has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.

My Department has engaged with NBI at every opportunity to explore options that might increase the pace of rollout and has been working with Directors of Service and Broadband Officers from all Local Authorities, the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), the County and City Management Agency (CCMA), the Road Management Office (RMO) and other Government Departments, to ensure that any possible barriers that might delay the rollout are addressed as soon as possible. Engagement with other bodies such as Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Irish Rail and ComReg have also been undertaken.

The National Broadband Plan is one of the most successful and impactful infrastructure projects in the history of the State. The benefits of the digital transition are felt right across the country – in every home, farm and school.

Along with the NBP intervention contract, progress is being made by commercial operators’ in expanding their next generation networks throughout the State and ensuring the targets set out in the Digital Connectivity strategy are achieved.