Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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44. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the extent to which he expects to be in a position to provide broadband services to those areas outside the proposed or existing provisions, in some cases only by a matter of metres; if he will consider a separate contract for such customers to run concurrent with the current programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49078/17]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of this question, somewhat similar to the previous question, is to bridge the gap between the existing work that has been done, is satisfactory and is a major improvement on what we had, and the next stage for those who require service and are anxious to know when they will get it.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I assume from the question the Deputy is referring to premises that are adjacent to, but not included in, eir's ongoing rural deployment of broadband to 300,000 premises between now and the end of 2018. This roll-out by eir is an example of the ramping up of commercial investment by industry which has been stimulated by the Government's national broadband plan.

To ensure that nobody is left behind, my Department is engaged in an ongoing procurement process to select a bidder or bidders which will roll out the new high-speed broadband network for the State-led intervention phase of the national broadband plan. My Department's specialist national broadband plan team is currently evaluating the detailed solutions received from two bidders last September as part of that competitive procurement process. This is the last stage of the procurement process before receipt of final tenders and progression to the appointment of a preferred bidder or bidders.

As Ireland's telecommunications market is a liberalised market, decisions by private companies on the roll-out and locations for their infrastructure are a matter for those companies.  I understand the frustration for people who live near, but are not included, in the current roll-out of fibre by commercial companies. eir's decisions as to the areas and premises to be served as part of its 300,000 rural deployment is a matter for the company. While that is the case, eir has indicated that it will consider including additional premises for areas where low-level designs have yet to be completed. I have asked that the local authority broadband officers identify candidate premises for inclusion in the eir 300,000 roll-out based on guideline criteria and I understand that this information was submitted via my Department to eir last week. Decisions on the inclusion of any individual premises remains a matter for eir.

I reiterate that any premises not covered by commercial operators private investment will be included in the State-led NBP intervention phase.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply.

It is not true to say that we had services all over the country a few years ago. Six or seven years ago, there were several black spots in the country with no mobile phone coverage, no telephone services, no radio signal and no television signal. The position has improved a little since then because of the action being taken.

The problem is that many find themselves 100 m from existing service. With that existing service, they feel they could work from home just as well as they can travelling into work. There are many in those circumstances all over the country. Is there any way the Minister can bridge that gap between where the services now stop and those who have a strong reason for getting service, have promoted the reasons over the years and continue to request the provision of service?

I believe it is possible to do it. The digital highway is in position and it is the minor roads with which we have a difficulty now. We need to come to some arrangement under which we can identify the end of the road.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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First, I understand the frustration to which the Deputy refers. There are thousands of my own constituents who are in the exact same situation, whereby they are struggling with little or no coverage. Some of them are also quite close to fibre that has been already built out or that is planned to be built out. eir has decided to look at its build out plan to see if there are commercial premises, schools or clusters of housing to which its network could be easily extended. The company is actively looking at that at the moment but that is a commercial decision for eir. Aside from that, the national broadband plan will bridge the gap and ensure that every single premises in the country will have access to high speed broadband. More than 90% of premises will have that access by 2020. We are also looking at how we can sweat the existing asset, the fibre that has been built out and the infrastructure that is already in place. That is why the auctioning off of the 3.6 gigahertz spectrum was so important because it allows for both mobile and wireless operators to provide broadband data services to a much broader catchment more quickly. In the coming months we will see some of those companies beginning to trial and offer services to customers who do not have access to such services at present.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. Is there any possibility that the situation could be examined with a view to ensuring that those who are closest to the existing fibre could be accommodated, even temporarily? It may be possible to do that kind of thing without incurring too much expenditure. Would it be possible for the Minister to discuss that with eir or other private operators to see whether it could be done in the short term? It may be possible to do it using wireless technology or by some other means or it may not be possible at all. However, unless an attempt is made to address that issue, there will be a considerable level of discontent and people will feel they are being ignored and isolated. Some of these people are in the business of job creation and offering employment.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I assure the Deputy that they are not being ignored and isolated. I am very conscious of each and every one of the 542,000 premises across the country. This is not just about sustaining existing jobs. There are also huge opportunities for new businesses to be created, not just with the provision of broadband. Broadband will only facilitate that. The new An Post parcel delivery and collection service means that in any location in the country one can provide an online service selling goods to customers across the globe and never have to leave one's own area. There are huge opportunities in that area. There are also huge opportunities in delivering health services which have not been exploited.

I assure the Deputy that I am actively discussing these matters with eir. A submission on a further build out was compiled by the broadband officers across the country and submitted to eir via my Department. We are also looking at how we can best exploit the existing infrastructure through both mobile and wireless services.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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In the interests of being helpful, I suggest that Questions Nos. 45 and 54 be grouped together because they are on the same topic. Both questions deal with electric vehicle charging points. I make the suggestion in order to move things along.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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While I appreciate the Deputy's desire to be of assistance, the questions have not been grouped-----

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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I would ask that the questions be taken together. We have done that previously in the interests of moving things along. Questions Nos. 45 and 54 are almost identical. They both deal with electric vehicle charging points.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I have no objection to them being taken together.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Dooley, who tabled question No. 45, has no problem with my suggestion.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I have no objection either.

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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That is fine, if everyone is in agreement.