Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

If we move to a universal-type charge, I would expect to see these costs decreasing rather than increasing. There would be absolutely no justification for an increase. I would also expect the charge to cover a far broader spectrum in order to deal with the issues raised by Senator McDowell.

Members are right when they refer to the new realities that now exist. We are bringing high-speed broadband to every home in Ireland. We have to look at the issue of the television licence. We will also have to look at many other issues, including home working. The need for resources in the context of commuting will change. There will be a demand for refurbishing homes, particularly in villages. At the end of next year, nearly every village in Ireland will have pure-fibre, high-speed broadband. There is an opportunity to revitalise those villages, particularly by bringing families back into them. Deputy Stanley knows as well as I do that there is no one living on the main streets of many towns and villages across the lakelands region. One cannot buy a pint of milk in many of them. Now that there is pure-fibre broadband outside the door of these premises, we can bring young families and new and innovative technology businesses into those locations. Deputy Stanley made a point about service providers and accessing the information that is there. I think he needs to take a little stroll up the road to Portarlington to talk to Ms Helen Dixon about the significant data protection issues that exist in this regard.