Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 November 2025
476. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport for an update on the roll out of the National Broadband Plan in rural counties, such as Offaly; whether delivery timelines are on track; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59351/25]
View answerThe 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.
I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that there are over 564,000 premises in the Intervention Area (IA) and design work has been completed for 100% of these. NBI has also passed over 430,000 premises in the intervention area and are connecting circa 4,500 premises to their fibre network per month. NBI also advise that 442,888 premises, across all counties in mainly rural areas, can now order or pre-order broadband and over 153,660 premises are already connected.
I have been advised by NBI that over 9,970 premises are now passed with a high-speed fibre broadband network and 10,675 premises are available to order/pre-order in County Offaly, with over 2,848 premises now connected.
A further circa 2,500 premises in County Offaly will be passed by NBI’s high speed fibre broadband by the end of network deployment. Premises located in the Edenderry Deployment Area are currently in the network build phase and will be available to order / passed in the period January to March 2026. Premises in Portarlington D.A are also in the network build phase, and will be available to order / passed in the period July to December 2026. The Templemore D.A. is at a status of Survey Pending and will be available to order / passed in the period July to December 2026.
Further details are available on specific areas within County Offaly can be monitored via [https://nbi.ie/reps]. NBI has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries. It should be noted that NBI provide this information for County Offaly based on NBI deployment areas rather than exact county boundaries.
