Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to share time with Deputies Frank Feighan and Anthony Lawlor. I welcome the publication of the Bill and I acknowledge the presence of the Minister in the House. Prior to the sale of Telecom Éireann, as it was, it was no secret that we had the cutting-edge technology of the day. It was the leading information technology network in Europe. If the network had been allowed to make remain in public ownership, we would not be debating this Bill today.

It is strange, yet inevitable, that we are depending on an electricity network to help us deliver an information technology infrastructure, particularly to the more rural and peripheral areas. I welcome the initiative taken by the Minister to provide legislation to allow the ESB to look at partnerships and joint ventures to provide access to its network to companies that will provide, ultimately, broadband through fibre to the home. It is a lot to ask and a massive potential investment but the investment must be examined as a long-term dividend for many parts of the country. The information technology network is as critically important today as road, rail and water infrastructure was in previous times. Its importance should never be underestimated. Around 90% of the network, particularly the fibre network, is not challenging to deliver. The market will ultimately deliver it. The remaining 10% is in difficult areas and each additional 1% is infinitely more difficult to deliver than the previous 1%. That is the challenge for the Department and the Minister. The initiative will go a long way towards providing for it.

Provision must be made for compensation from companies to the ESB. It is too easy to overlook the point. I submit that the compensation offer to the ESB should not be weighted on the capital costs alone but in respect of the number of houses, companies or units that the service provides for. If we are going to achieve fibre connections to homes in more rural areas, it is not fair to allow compensation to the ESB of the entire capital costs where they can be offset against less challenging delivery projects in more densely populated areas.

At the meeting of the select committee yesterday, which the Minister attended, I mentioned a successful school broadband scheme delivering 100 Mbps per second to second level schools throughout the country. It is a major success and will have a huge results for students. Now, it is time to take a jobs and economic focus. Some second level schools have access to 100 Mbps per second while a small business park, industrial unit or commercial centre less than 1 kilometre from the school has a broadband service that is not fit for purpose. The inevitable conclusion is that it will close and that businesses cannot compete. We should change our focus. A new scheme should look more closely at those issues, including the economic benefits of rolling out 100 Mbps per second to the areas that do not have it.

Another issue concerns the available information on the advertised speeds companies say they can provide. This applies particularly to the DSL network and the satellite system. Companies offer from 1.5 Mbps up to 6 Mbps from the DSL exchange. I live in a small town less than 1 km from the exchange and, although I am routinely told speeds of 3 Mbps are available, when I test the speed it is rarely over 300 kilobits per second. That is okay for personal and domestic use - to look at Facebook, send e-mail and look at YouTube - but it is not acceptable to deliver jobs or drive economic activity. It is not okay for companies to say one thing while customers are getting something entirely different.

I can see the potential to access the ESB's networks in order to provide for a fibre exchange to the home or business service, which will be critical in driving the economies of local areas. That should not be underestimated.

In talking about providing a broadband service, particularly a rural broadband service, we must grapple with the idea of insisting on a minimum service. We can do this on a contract basis, but I would prefer to see it being placed on a statutory basis. This service should be at least 10 Mbps. Perhaps there could be a public service obligation in that regard for rural areas. If we do not give ourselves that challenge, we will be grappling with the issue of delivery of rural broadband services for the next 60 years; it will be similar to the experience of electrification in the Black Valley in County Kerry. We would all like to avoid that scenario.

There is a good example of the challenges we face and it can be highlighted in the context of further negotiations with the ESB. Approximately 18 months ago people, including Councillor Mary Hegarty in Bantry, approached Amazon about a very exciting initiative. The company would provide 26 jobs in rural areas in Bantry and the peninsular areas of west Cork in a support service to what was a very successful company. It provided training, support and equipment with the jobs, as promised. The problem was that although the minimum 5 Mbps minimum service required was achieved at times, some people had to give up their jobs because the service was inconsistent. That was very disappointing and it sends a very negative message when we are trying to attract jobs for the likes of architects and engineers. The people concerned could return to their native areas if they could use a service, leading to what would almost certainly be a better quality of life. Unfortunately, we are meeting these obstacles in trying to deliver jobs, which is very disappointing.

According to the 2011 census, in my constituency of Cork South-West there were approximately 30,000 homes, over 18,000 of which had a broadband service. That is all we know; we do not know the quality of the service provided, the consistency of the service or the challenges being faced by these households. It is 2014 and we could probably increase the 18,000 figure by 50%, but we still lack the knowledge and mapping information when it comes to quality and consistency of service. That is replicated throughout the country. In negotiations between the ESB and the Department we must get the most up-to-date information on what is happening on the ground. Without this information, we could lose much of the initiative to be gained from the Bill.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport will be familiar with the development of the Wild Atlantic Way from County Donegal to west Cork. One of the initiatives being discussed is the development of a phone application to explain or interpret the various parts of the route. I am sorry to say the application would be largely redundant in the pockets of most travellers as the telecommunications service would not be up to delivering it. That is a good example of the challenge facing the Minister.

I know the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has appointed Mr. David Puttnam, a constituent of mine, as information czar for the country. It is wonderful to see his achievements from his studio at his home in Skibbereen. It is a global communications effort. However, 2 km from his house it is like living in the Black Valley. I hope the Minister will face up to these challenges and deal with them in the new contracts. I welcome him and wish him well.

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