Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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My second issue is also one I have raised before. I refer to the frustration in those areas which are borderline amber and blue. The blue areas are those where commercial entities are doing the connections. I have been told about several such situations in the last week alone. There is one area where the box that Eir has put in place is at the end of an avenue leading to a farm. That farmer is milking more than 350 cows. It is a major commercial operation. This farmer will not get connected because he is in the amber area. The likely connection date is the end of 2025. Likewise, a great many people have said similar things to me. One was a case where the pole where the box is based is halfway up an avenue to a farmyard, but because the farmyard itself is in the amber area it will not be connected, despite the pole sitting in the blue area. It does not make sense that there has not been engagement with the commercial companies in these instances where places are borderline. Can we do something to fast-track connections in those areas on the borderline between the amber and blue areas and where a premises might not be connected because it is on the wrong side of the road?