Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 February 2023
65. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he could address the concerns on internet and broadband in west Cork (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5055/23]
View answerThe High Speed Broadband Map, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie, shows the areas included in the National Broadband Plan (NBP) State led intervention as well as areas targeted by commercial operators. The map is colour coded and searchable by address and Eircode. Premises in the AMBER area will be provided with high-speed broadband through the State led Intervention. The BLUE area represents those areas where commercial providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The areas referred to in the Question are located in a combination of AMBER and BLUE on the high-speed broadband map.
I am advised by NBI that, as of 20 January 2023, over 120,000 premises can order or pre-order a high-speed broadband connection across 26 counties, with over 109,500 premises passed and available for immediate connection. Construction is underway across 26 counties. The level of connections is increasing on a daily basis and is exceeding projections.
There are 81,507 premises in County Cork planned to be passed by National Broadband Ireland with high-speed gigabit fibre broadband as part of the State Intervention under the National Broadband Plan. To date, in Cork, over 15,721 premises are passed by the NBP high-speed fibre broadband network and available for immediate connection.
NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries. NBI has also made recent improvements to their website to enhance the provision of information to Oireachtas members and allow 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. The dedicated webpage can be accessed here: www.nbi.ie
Strategic Connection Points (SCPs) 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 20 January, 854 SCP sites (281 Broadband Connection Points, which are publicly accessible sites, and 573 schools) have been installed 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 BCPs and the Department of Education for school SCP’s. In County Cork 24 BCPs have been installed to date.
In County Cork 85 schools BCPs 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 are available on the NBI website at https://nbi.ie/primary-schools-list/.
Extensive investment plans are in place by a range of commercial operators. These plans will see improved high-speed broadband access across the country in BLUE areas.
Through commercial investment, complemented by the State through the National Broadband Plan all premises will have access to high-speed broadband in every part of the country no matter how remote.
