Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned the issue of mobile phones. It is obvious that the quality of the reception coverage has been deteriorating in recent times. I believe, as do many others, that the reason for that is that the larger phones are taking more out of the system. I am not doing that with my phone as I have one of the older ones. The providers need to be tackled about this. In areas where one could get coverage previously, one cannot get it now. When one gets off an airplane in Farranfore now, one cannot get coverage but coverage was available previously. When I got my first phone, I knew all the areas that had bad coverage at the start. However, those areas have now got bad coverage again. The service providers in all the areas should be tackled about this issue. They should be told that this is what we believe is happening and that they need to enhance their service. It is not good enough in today's world that people do not have good mobile phone coverage. As in the case of broadband, we should have a good mobile phone coverage all over the country.

I was advised of a case a few weeks ago where a man in Scotland was knocked down by a bull but, thankfully, he was able to use his mobile phone to call for help. Most farmers are operating on their own and they do not have any help. A mobile phone is their only saviour to let someone know if they get into trouble. One can get into trouble on a farm. The same is the case for sole traders operating on their own. A mobile phone is a necessity as it could save someone's life but he or she does not have coverage, he or she might as well throw the phone into the bin and forget about it. I ask that the lack of coverage be tackled right away.