Telecommunications Infrastructure

Thursday, 11 June 2026

Questions (77)

Michael Cahill

Question:

77. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to urgently address the mobile phone blackspots across County Kerry. [44571/26]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport

While the Department has no role in developing county or locality-specific strategies for mobile coverage improvements, the Department’s Digital Connectivity Strategy published in 2022 sets ambitious targets for fixed and mobile connectivity. This Strategy is currently being updated.

In the liberalised and competitive Irish mobile telecoms market, network coverage is the responsibility of network operators, who operate on a commercial basis, regulated by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). These operators consistently prioritise improving their networks’ coverage.

However, mobile service quality is not uniform in all areas as it must overcome varying challenges such as different geographical terrains, varying physical and natural obstructions as well as different user demands.

In 2023, ComReg completed a Multi-band Spectrum Award to assign long term rights of use in four spectrum bands, this represented a 46% increase in the harmonised spectrum. ComReg confirms that call blocks, call drops, and network availability, on mobile networks, remain stable even with increasing traffic volumes. ComReg are satisfied that mobile network operators are meeting their licence requirements over the whole network. It is expected that ComReg will conduct an assessment of operators’ compliance with their 3-year obligations under the MBSA2 licence this year.

ComReg updates its online national outdoor mobile coverage map at coveragemap.comreg.ie. This helps customers select the best service for them. Where customers experience poor coverage, they should contact the customer care team of their mobile phone operator to make a complaint. The complaint can then be escalated to ComReg if not resolved to the consumer's satisfaction within 10 days.

Questions Nos. 78 and 79 answered orally.