Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

This debate concerns the lack of investment and planning in broadband services. The four key areas in the provision of broadband are penetration, speed, access and cost. A 2007 Forfás report showed Ireland was below the EU average in the provision of broadband services and behind our competitors. Last week's European Competitive Telecommunications Association report showed Ireland was in the bottom four of EU broadband performance. Being below average is simply not good enough.

We have identified ourselves as a knowledge-based economy. We need to encourage entrepreneurship and regional development and attract foreign direct investment. To match these aspirations, we need a first-class telecommunications infrastructure. Instead terms such as "embarrassing" have been used to describe our broadband services. The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, ISME, has described them as a joke. I would describe it as serious if we are to have ambitions for the economy to grow. We must provide the basic broadband infrastructure for businesses to carry on.

Unless high-speed broadband capacity is provided for in the regions, people will not move out of Dublin, a point made clearly by businesses. The Minister has promised another forum on broadband services. Instead of forums we need action to ensure we achieve our ambition to develop a knowledge-based economy and encourage entrepreneurship. Without the necessary broadband penetration, speed and access, we will go nowhere.

I urge the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to take on board Deputy Coveney's proposals which are practical and realistic ambitions that can be fulfilled and will get us to the same level as our competitors.

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