Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I agree that in terms of infrastructure, it is not necessarily only what we can physically see that is important and in that context, the issue of broadband availability is relevant. This is particularly so with regard to the ability of small and artisan businesses to sell goods and services on-line.

I do not wholeheartedly agree with some of the forecasts in the report. I see them as depicting a doomsday scenario and I do not see the situation in that light at all. I agree that the roll-out of the broadband programme by my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, will support small businesses and enterprises greatly. An enormous amount of money is being invested under that programme — I do not have the exact figures with me but they can be made available by way of other parliamentary questions — and I will be doing everything I can to drive and support the new technologies coming on stream within agriculture. Information technology and the knowledge economy do not only apply to particular types of education or industry, they are also very much a part of agriculture in terms of research, development and education within agriculture and support mechanisms for our food and drink industry.

Much work has been done on this initiative and work will continue on that, as well as on the support mechanisms and new methodologies of linking with our farmers.

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