331. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the interventions or remediation schemes planned to address premises trapped in BLUE commercial areas due to direct buried copper leads to allow fibre broadband. [66841/26]

333. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the policy interventions or remediation schemes planned for households unable to reach the baseline 30 Mbps threshold due to sub-surface copper bottlenecks. [66844/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 331 and 333 together.

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) is the Government’s initiative to deliver high?speed broadband to all premises in Ireland. In addition, Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy published in December 2022, sets out a number of targets including that all Irish households and businesses will be covered by a Gigabit network no later than 2028.

My Department is continuing to monitor commercial broadband roll-out plans and network upgrades to help ensure that any unnecessary barriers to investment are identified and addressed. This work is designed to mitigate the risk that premises located in commercially served, or "Blue", areas may remain unable to access to gigabit broadband services due to specific infrastructure challenges.

I am aware that some premises in Blue Areas face particular difficulties obtaining a fibre broadband connection due to the presence of legacy infrastructure, including direct buried copper leads (DBLs) or sub-surface network bottlenecks arising from blocked or damaged ducts. These issues can make fibre upgrades more complex and costly and, in some cases, may impact the ability of commercial operators to deliver gigabit-capable broadband services. Such infrastructure constraints are among a number of factors that may present challenges for commercial operators seeking to upgrade networks to gigabit-capable services.

The Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) plays an important role in ensuring that telecommunications operators can obtain access to existing physical infrastructure owned by other infrastructure providers, thereby reducing the cost and time required to deploy high-capacity broadband networks. Key provisions of the GIA include access to existing physical infrastructure, improved transparency, streamlined permit procedures and coordination of civil works.

The Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce, which is being reconstituted as the Digital Connectivity and Infrastructure Taskforce, provides a forum for Government Departments, local authorities, regulators and industry stakeholders to work collaboratively to identify and address barriers to the deployment of digital infrastructure. Its work programme includes implementation of the GIA, streamlining planning and licensing processes, addressing gigabit and mobile challenged areas, and improving coordination across stakeholders to support the delivery of high-quality digital connectivity throughout the country.

My Department is actively examining all potential scenarios that may give rise to these "gigabit-challenged" premises and has engaged extensively with commercial wholesale network operators through formal correspondence and technical meetings. Further engagement is planned, and the information gathered is informing an assessment of the most appropriate policy responses, including legal, technical and cost considerations. My Department will continue to engage with commercial operators to explore practical options for addressing these challenges and supporting the delivery of high-speed broadband services to affected premises.