Mr. Simon McKeever:

I have been to Galway six times in the last seven days. Broadband in the countryside is also an issue. A number of members in the west have also told us that they are having difficulties attracting and retaining skilled and qualified staff. Even if they manage to get staff to come from places like Mullingar, within a matter of months they have leave because they are not prepared to put up with the commute. It is a real issue for them over there. Every time we go over there we are appalled by the state of the broadband provision. We had an event in 2015 over there and the broadband kept cutting in and out. It was shambolic. That part of the country is a bit neglected and needs a considerable increase in infrastructural spending.