Inter-departmental confusion over handling of National Broadband Plan

Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s decision to grant responsibility for the roll-out of “rural broadband” to the newly created Department of Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts, and the Gaeltacht looks to have created considerable inter-departmental confusion over the delivery of the National Broadband Plan (NBP).

In announcing his Cabinet last Friday, Mr Kenny said the provision of rural broadband would fall under the remit of Minister Heather Humphreys’ expanded department.

Given that the NBP is a countrywide initiative rather than being focused solely on rural areas, Mr Kenny’s announcement caused some confusion as to which government department would have responsibility for delivery of the plan.

The Department of Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, which has been tasked with the implementation of the broadband plan up to now, was unable to outline its future role when contacted by the Irish Examiner. A spokesperson said the NBP remains a “top priority” for the government.

Both it and the Department for Rural Affairs are working together to “give effect to the relevant commitments in the Programme for Government and the Taoiseach’s speech”, said the spokesperson.

The department was unable to offer details about its involvement, however, nor could it outline the role newly appointed Communications Minister, Roscommon Galway Independent TD Denis Naughten, will play in supplying high-speed broadband under the plan.

Furthermore, the department could not confirm whether it or Ms Humphreys’ department had ultimate responsibility for what is the country’s largest and most significant broadband intervention.

The Department for Rural Affairs wasn’t available to comment.

The confusion created by the Taoiseach’s announcement last week is the latest setback to the plan after it ran into delays over the last few weeks. The Department of Communications announced it would not be in a position to award a contract for the NBP this year, as planned.

Mr Naughten’s predecessor, Alex White, said the plan would be delayed “maybe six months”, as a result of interested parties receiving a month’s extension to make submissions.

Eir chief executive Richard Moat then told the Irish Examiner that the delay remained unclear, despite Mr White’s comments.

Eir itself has also been blamed for the delayed rollout of the plan, which aims to deliver a minimum speed of 30Mbps to thousands of homes and businesses that commercial providers consider uneconomical to serve.

Rival BT criticised Eir for “chopping and changing” its broadband plans after it announced late last year that it was to connect 300,000 of the 750,000 premises originally contained in the NBP.

Under European state aid rules, the government is precluded from providing broadband in areas covered by commercial operators.

The Programme for Government published this week also caused confusion over the NBP. It committed to supplying “next-generation broadband to every home and business in the country by 2020”.

It states, though, that this could take up to five years, meaning it could be 2022 before it is achieved, given that the contract won’t be awarded until 2017 as a result of the six-month delay.