Broadband Q&A from Minister Naughten

It’s a big promise; one that, he acknowledges, will be met with scepticism. But Denis Naughten is adamant that within the next five years every single premises in Ireland will have access to reliable, high-speed broadband. 

“Most people don’t believe that this National Broadband Plan is real. I can’t blame them. I was as big a cynic as everyone else in relation to it,” said the Communications Minister. 
“As I said to the team in the Department, we will under-promise and over-deliver, because I am sick and tired of promises being made, and (Governments) failing on it.”

He said it will take five years to connect every premises in the country to fast broadband, but the “vast majority” will be connected “within” three years. 
“You are going to be dealing with peripheral areas - the sides of mountains, isolated rural valleys, and so forth - so it will take time to get to those particular locations,” he said. 

Minister Naughten was speaking recently at his Monksland constituency office in order to promote a live broadcast on Facebook this week in which he’ll answer questions from the public on rural broadband issues. 

The event, which he likened to an online 'town hall meeting’, will be broadcast live on the Denis Naughten Facebook page from Facebook’s headquarters in Dublin on Tuesday next, September 13, from 7pm. 

The Drum native said he would be the first Irish Government Minister to take part in an event of this nature. 
“We’re trying to engage directly with the public, to get their questions in relation to this and provide straight answers to straight questions,” he said. 

He explained that the broadcast was happening at Facebook HQ because the social media giant would be helping to moderate it. “That’s not to moderate it to exclude anyone – we’re moderating it so we can try and group (a set of) relevant questions (on a single issue) together.”
Discussing the importance of supplying broadband to every part of the country, Minister Naughten said this carries the potential to dramatically change Ireland. 

“It will have a transformational impact on Ireland equivalent to rural electrification, and we want people to be prepared for it because it’s going to open up massive new opportunities for business and for entrepreneurs.”
He said it would allow more people to work from home, which will benefit the environment by reducing emissions from work-related transport, and it would open up opportunities in other areas also. 

“Health is probably going to be the single biggest beneficiary on foot of rural broadband. We need to get the public to prepare for that and we need to get the health service to prepare for it.”
He said there was no reason why, once people have high-speed broadband, a GP or public health nurse couldn’t “check in with an older person” online, particularly those with chronic conditions.
He said the patient could “sit in front of their television and talk directly with their GP or public health nurse” who would be able to identify problems earlier and then alter the patient’s treatment or care. 

“This is proven throughout the world... by using technology it means you can monitor older people far more closely.”
He said a contract for the delivery of the national broadband plan would be signed next June and that by the end of next year “we’ll have a detailed plan signed off with the contractor in relation to the roll-out. 
“Once we have the sign-off from the contractor we will make (an interactive map) available so people will be able to zoom into their own home and know exactly when the contractor is going to connect them up to the broadband network. They won’t get the date of connection, but they’ll get the month.”

He acknowledged that some people in urban areas were having difficulties accessing broadband, and said: “If they cannot get high-speed broadband, and won’t have it by the end of this year, then we need to hear from them. They need to email us with their details, with their eircode, to: broadband@dccae.gov.ie so that we can amend the map to make sure that they are provided for. 

“For example, we’ve had problems in River Village (in Monksland) even though everyone should be getting high speed broadband there. Where they are not getting it, we need to intervene, but we need to (be given) that information.” 

Live Q & A
• Minister Naughten’s 'Facebook Live’ question and answer session on broadband will be shown at: www.facebook.com/DenisNaughtenTD/ from 7pm on Tuesday, September 13. Those who 'like’ Minister Naughten’s page in advance can receive an automatic notification when the broadcast begins.