Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our guests this morning for their presentations. I was recently at an event celebrating Deputy Bruton’s 40 years in the Dáil. The first parliamentary question he ever submitted was on whether a particular constituent of his was going to get a telephone connection. The constituent had been waiting for more than three years for a connection. It looks like we are now facing the same scenario with broadband.

I want to raise a number of issues. Reference was made to the fast-tracking of the connection of schools around the country. This is very welcome. I very much welcome the progress made in this area. Since there is now a substantial delay in the rolling out of broadband, especially in rural areas, is it not time to consider also the roll-out of additional community hubs? Has this possibility been examined? A large number of people who are now trying to work from home do not have access to broadband. If we rolled out many more community hubs, would it not be beneficial, especially if there is going to be a delay of three to four years in providing access in certain areas? Has this issue been looked at?