James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I spoke to the Minister earlier after the debate on the legislation was adjourned. I could paper his house with all the representations I have sent to his office on the broadband issue over the years. He knows well how patchy broadband service is in the midlands. The Bill's primary function is to provide a legal basis enabling the ESB to engage in electronic communications networks and services such as the provision of improved broadband services. High-speed, high-quality and reliable broadband has become a critical component of modern society and the use of the ESB network to provide broadband will help with the roll-out.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years in both the coverage and the speed of the national broadband infrastructure. Ireland's telecommunications market, which was liberalised in 1999, has developed into a well-regulated market supporting a multiplicity of commercial operators providing services over a diverse range of technology platforms. The State is not a service provider in this market and can only intervene in cases of demonstrated market failure. A combination of private investment and State intervention, including the national broadband scheme and the rural broadband scheme, means that Ireland has met the European Commission digital agenda target of having a basic broadband service available to all areas by the 2013 deadline. The focus must turn to accelerating the roll-out of high speed broadband.

The Bill, hopefully, will enable the use of ESB's infrastructure to speed up the roll-out of broadband across the country under the national broadband plan. The plan was published in August 2012 and commits to the delivery of high-speed broadband throughout the country. This commitment is to be achieved by ensuring the environment is right to maximise investment by the commercial sector and through State-led investment in those areas where it is evident that the market will not deliver. The plan also specifically commits to the use of State assets to accelerate the roll-out of high-speed broadband infrastructure and services and recognises the role commercial semi-state companies can perform in accelerating the roll-out of such infrastructure. It is essential, therefore, that the plan be fully implemented by 2015 as planned, and I intend to monitor this closely to help ensure full delivery for the Longford-Westmeath area, where broadband service is extremely patchy currently. The Ceann Comhairle is smiling, because he has had experience of this.

Ireland's small and dispersed population makes the provision of competitively priced broadband more challenging. This can be helped by timely implementation of the national broadband plan and prioritising the removal of barriers to enable private sector investment and parallel State intervention by the Department. While UPC has invested significantly in upgrading its cable networks in the main urban centres, businesses, particularly SMEs, in a large number of medium-sized towns do not have access to competitively priced advanced broadband services, and this is affecting the provision of badly needed jobs, particularly in the midlands and the west.

Children and adults in rural areas who do not have access to a high-quality broadband service are currently disadvantaged and will become even more disadvantaged as all of our educational provision is slowly moving onto a digital platform. The future prosperity of economic and social life in peripheral and rural areas depends significantly on high-speed broadband availability. Broadband deficiencies have militated against potential investment in our peripheral and rural areas. Almost 90% of the EU is covered. Ireland is close to the bottom of an EU league table for broadband availability in schools, as we rank 20th out of 27 member states. Local rural communities will die as young people are leaving broadband deserts. The lack of modern services and broadband roll-out is leading to rural depopulation, with young people leaving to access urban facilities. Young people in rural Ireland are suffering huge educational disadvantage due to the lack of broadband access. They are experiencing difficulties doing homework and projects due to the lack of Internet availability. More schools from the midlands participated in the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition ten years ago than do so now because of the lack of broadband, and this issue needs to be examined. Several schools in rural areas are making repeated applications for broadband services, to no avail.

Young people without broadband are also disadvantaged in terms of social interaction. They are unable to socialise with friends on websites such as Facebook, which can provide a major social outlet for those living in remote areas. I am concerned that there will be a two-tiered society in the context of broadband access.

Ireland's widely dispersed population could deter some providers from supplying broadband in rural Ireland and fears have been expressed that rural Ireland could be left behind. Under this Bill, the involvement of ESB will bring about the upgrade of broadband services in rural areas. The national broadband plan for Ireland should facilitate the provision of high speed broadband to every home and business in the State, no matter how remote, but according to the chief executive of BT Ireland, the construction of a national rural broadband network faces intractable difficulties. He stated: "from a network point of view, the Irish rural housing stock is a nightmare...You might have a [broadband] cabinet that services 30 homes and some of those homes could be up to 6 km from the cabinet. But once you get 2 km from a cabinet, it becomes very hard to deliver high-speed broadband." I ask the Minister how he intends to tackle this issue.

There is potential for increased competition in the electronic communications networks and services market. Vodafone and BT Ireland are seeking to partner ESB in building a €400 million super fast fibre network. A more competitive market will increase consumer choice and reduce prices. A significant development has been the entry of Sky to the Irish retail broadband market with very competitive retail offers. We are on the cusp of a new digital era where we are strategically placed from a geographic, infrastructure and knowledge perspective to herald the dawn of the next phase of Ireland's economic growth. It is important that we receive a consistent and competitive electricity supply, along with technological connectivity. I welcome this Bill, which will speed up the provision of broadband in rural areas by allowing ESB to use its existing infrastructure.

I wrote to the Minister on several occasions regarding the dreadful situation in the midlands in regard to broadband access. I do not want to be personal but my own home is not serviced by any form of broadband. I have to travel 16 miles to my office to access broadband. I fully understand the plight of small businesses in the midlands but I am confident this Bill will help them.

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