€350m broadband plan gets green light from Cabinet

Minister Pat Rabbitte said today that €350m will be invested in broadband to ensure an adequate service reaches all parts of the country.

The Communications Minister is launching the Government’s National Broadband plan later this morning, it is thought that the State will need to contribute around €200m towards the cost.

Minister Pat Rabbitte said there are areas of the country where it is not commercially viable for businesses to provide broadband, and it is up to the State to intervene, the Government’s intention that half of the country will have broadband speeds of up to 30 megabits by 2015.

“I have the full endorsement of Cabinet in sanctioning that I will have the money to do that,” he said.

“In the interim, I have to go through this dreadfully painful procurement process and Government has committed that we will intervene where the market is not provided that service and that means that we will have to put in investment.”