Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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222. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when high-speed fibre broadband will be available to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18343/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the National Broadband Plan. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced in December which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by end-2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of end-2026. The school in question is included in the accelerated plan and is scheduled for installation next year. 

The list of all the schools to be connected, broken down by County, is available on the NBI website at .

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps a person (details supplied) can take in a situation in which a person does not have an allocated Eircode and therefore cannot obtain a broadband connection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18351/21]

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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282. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if a monthly update of the Eircode system will be put in place in order to speed up the allocation of Eircodes to new postal addresses in order that they can connect to fibre broadband (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20354/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 223 and 282 together.

Capita Business Support Services Ireland, trading as Eircode, was awarded a 10 year contract in December 2013 to develop, implement, maintain and promote the National Postcode System "Eircode".

Eircodes are assigned to new property addresses using a valid postal address and verified geo-locations. An Post collects information on new and existing buildings, as well as changes to existing addresses and Ordnance Survey Ireland provides the geo-locations for these buildings.  An Post GeoDirectory, a subsidiary company of An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland, issue a new release of the GeoDirectory database file on a quarterly basis to Eircode in accordance with their licence agreement.

Each new postal address assigned an Eircode is published on the free to use Eircode Finder website, a notification letter is issued to the property occupant containing the Eircode of that address and an updated Eircode Database is provided to licenced businesses for their use. Eircode have informed my Department that over 139,000 property addresses have been assigned an Eircode since the launch in 2015.

Once the Eircode database is updated on a quarterly basis it is then a matter for individual Eircode database providers to release updates to commercial businesses in accordance with the terms of their licence agreements.

Householders who have queries on how to get an Eircode for their property can contact Eircode at hello@eircode.ie or Customer Service on 0818 300 005. 

Early assignment of Eircodes is contingent on An Post facilitating the increased frequency of new and changed addresses in the GeoDirectory database from quarterly to monthly to Eircode through their subsidiary An Post GeoDirectory. My officials are working with An Post, Ordnance Survey Ireland, An Post GeoDirectory and Eircode to expedite the process of assigning Eircodes for new properties with postal addresses and geo-locations.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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224. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the national broadband plan will be rolled out for premises (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18387/21]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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294. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when fibre broadband will be available to a household (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20789/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 294 together.

The Questions refer to premises located in the AMBER area on the National Broadband Plan (NBP) High Speed Broadband Map which is available on my Department's website www.broadband.gov.ie.The AMBER area represents the area to be served by the network to be deployed under the NBP State led intervention.

I appreciate people's frustration when they are living so close to a fibre network but cannot get a connection to that network, particularly given the heightened importance of connectivity during the Covid-19 pandemic. The NBP will ensure that in all such cases a future proofed high speed broadband network will be built to serve these premises and work to deliver on this is underway. 

I am advised by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) that, as of 15 April 2021, over 204,000 premises across all counties have been surveyed. Surveys are complete or underway in County Donegal in Milford, Letterkenny, Ramelton, Termon, Ballymacool, Kilmacrennan, Mullaghfin and Tommyscroft. Further details are available on specific areas within County Donegal through the NBI website which provides a facility for any premises within the intervention area to register their interest in being provided with deployment updates through its website www.nbi.ie. Individuals who register with this facility will receive regular updates on progress by NBI on delivering the network and specific updates related to their own premises as works commence. I am advised that NBI is working to provide more detail on its website, with a rolling update on network build plans. NBI also has a dedicated email address, reps@nbi.ie, which can be used by Oireachtas members for specific queries.

Broadband Connection Points (BCPs) 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 15 April, 302 BCP sites have been installed by NBI 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 publicly accessible sites and the Department of Education for school BCPs. BCP’s are connected at Ray Community Centre, Leghowney Community Centre, Dunree Military Museum, Cranford Coole Community Centre, the Gweedore Theatre (located 1.23 Kilometres from one of the premises) and Meenreagh Hostel (located 8.53 Kilometres from one of the premises). Further details can be found at . 

My Department continues to work with the Department of Education to prioritise schools with no high speed broadband, within the Intervention Area, for connection over the term of the NBP. In this regard, an acceleration of this aspect of the National Broadband Plan was announced in December which will see some 679 primary schools connected to high speed broadband by 2022, well ahead of the original target delivery timeframe of 2026. Some 42 primary schools are to be connected in Donegal.  Further details are available on the NBI website at .