Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will start with broadband. Being a rural Deputy, broadband is of crucial importance to us. The last phone call I received before I came in here was from a businessman on the Carlow-Kilkenny border who has problems with his Internet and has no broadband. He got Eir to install broadband for him and it stopped working. He has been in touch with Eir for over three months and is waiting. I am aware it is it not Mr. Griffin's responsibility but I am just raising the importance of broadband and its roll-out to rural Ireland. There are 550,000 people out there waiting for broadband. I have a kind of half system of broadband at home that is not fast or good enough. This is the future of Ireland and we are at a big disadvantage in rural Ireland by not having broadband to compete with Dublin and other urban areas. I have people constantly contacting me to ask if they will have broadband if they come to live in Kilkenny. If they work from home, it is just not available. We are losing out badly in small villages and towns in rural Ireland. This is an opening comment to let Mr. Griffin know how serious the situation is.