Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Does that apply to the rural broadband scheme where there is a requirement that people in these electoral districts have reasonable phone coverage, which in many areas they do not? Coming from a rural constituency, I am concerned about the number of people who do not have access to broadband or accept very poor broadband coverage. In terms of the interaction between the delivery of the next step under the rural broadband scheme and the national broadband scheme, do those people have to wait before they will be serviced under the rural broadband scheme? A request was issued for people who did not have broadband access to notify the Department. Some people did not get to do that. Can those people still come forward and advise that they live in a rural area where they cannot receive broadband and seek to be serviced under the rural broadband scheme?

It is stark to visit some primary schools in a rural county such as Mayo where I am from and note the differences between them. These schools embrace digital technology but a fundamental requirement of that is access to broadband. Some of these schools have access to it and some do not. The learning environment for children in schools that do not have the same access to digital technology compared with children in schools that do is very marked. In line with what has been done for secondary schools, it is important that a minimum acceptable standard be delivered to primary schools as soon as possible.