Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

Like me, the Minister is aware that while it is not the largest employer in Cork, Motorola makes a substantial contribution to Cork in terms of employment and access to the rest of Europe and the knowledge based, networks business sector in which it operates. While I do not expect the company to provide specific information on internal redeployment given the fears it may have about competitiveness, it is worrying that a company such as Motorola is even considering redundancies. Cork did not catch up with the rest of the country in employment and infrastructure terms until five years after significant economic growth commenced. Now that parity has been achieved, I would hate to see any slippage. Will the Minister indicate a timeframe for the complete roll-out in Cork of broadband infrastructure, on which Motorola and similar companies depend? Will he ensure that such companies are given every encouragement to remain in the Cork region and that direct communications and the necessary infrastructure will be provided quickly?

See this speech in context