Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

I support the motion, which addresses an increasingly important part of the essential infrastructure of a modern society. While I accept it is the wish and will of every party in the House, it is regrettable that the Government found it necessary not to support the motion as it stands. There is no doubt that broadband connectivity is an essential element in economic success and not just in respect of those areas dependent on high-technology.

The motion is correct in identifying that this country has a relatively poor rate in terms of broadband access internationally. It is a timely reference given that a report issued last week by the European Competitive Telecommunications Association found that Ireland lies 12th of the 15 EU states surveyed in terms of broadband penetration. Only Italy, Portugal and Greece, all of which have much larger land areas and arguably more difficult and mountainous terrain, are behind us. Ireland has a penetration rate of just under 17%, which compares to an average of 20% among the other 15 states included in the study. Unfortunately, this compares to a rate of 34% in Denmark and 25% in Britain. It is important, therefore, in respect of economic growth that the position is improved upon as a matter of urgency.

There are a number of bright spots identified in the report. For example, our ranking improved from 14th last year and Ireland has recently enjoyed the third largest growth rate of the 15 states, although a good proportion of this related to the growth of broadband access through mobile telephone providers rather than the provision of home and business access. Mobile access is not considered by the OECD as an important factor in promoting economic development and most of those with access will at any rate be living in parts of the country with existing access provision.

Another concern highlighted by the ECTA report was the increasing market dominance of the major broadband suppliers. This relates mainly to the fact that, like large private corporations with few competitors, there will be a tendency to use market strength to impose higher costs on consumers, which is a serious concern. There is also the danger that a small number of dominant suppliers will have little incentive to ensure that broadband access is rolled out to those areas in which it is more difficult or costly to supply and access.

Last night in Tralee, I attended a meeting of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, IRDA. It was attended by people from Clare and other parts of the west coast, but mainly from Kerry. Significant issues that arose during the meeting were depopulation, lack of employment and the decline of traditional industries in rural areas. More alarmingly, it was mentioned that much of the young population is leaving rural Ireland. This would obviously have implications for countries with large rural populations, particularly given that rural penetration by broadband is still low in relative terms. This makes it all the more essential that the State adopts a proactive role in ensuring, as the Government is committed to, that the necessary infrastructure is in place to meet the target of making broadband available to every person.

I return to the matter of access in rural areas. In many parts of my county — north, south and west Kerry — there is no access to broadband, although there may be in the larger built-up areas. This is a significant disincentive to anyone of an entrepreneurial spirit who wishes to become involved in business. I have no doubt that the failure to provide broadband in many parts of the country has been a factor in the failure to attract new investment and in the closure of existing enterprises. For several years, I have been highlighting the failure of the IDA to attract new investment to Kerry to compensate for a steady series of closures and staff lay-offs. In particular, I have pointed to its failure to persuade companies in the technology sector to locate in the county despite the presence in Tralee of an institute of technology and a technology park, two fabulous institutions located in a built-up area in the south-west corner of the country that are not being exploited for the benefit of the people. The delay in the roll-out of broadband to rural and isolated areas is a contributing factor.

While broadband access is available in Tralee and other towns, there are still large parts of the county where this is not the case. Undoubtedly, it has had a negative impact on development in rural Kerry, but has also had a knock on effect on the county overall. I suggest an intimate connection between Kerry having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and one of the lowest levels of broadband penetration. Some 3,200 people in Tralee are unemployed and nearly 14% of the county's population is unemployed, which is nearly three times the national average. One can make the strong argument that a contributing factor is the lack of the required level of broadband penetration.

It is particularly important that, where small businesses in the more remote and coastal localities need to compensate for their physical location by ease of communications, broadband is made available. It would certainly apply in counties like Kerry, Donegal, Clare, Galway, Mayo and the rest of the western seaboard where newer business enterprises are required to compensate for the loss of more traditional manufacturing. Where surveys were conducted in the United States, Britain and elsewhere, the lack of broadband access was identified as a key drawback to rural businesses. A rural business person I know stated that, without adequate broadband access, it is simply impossible for rural businesses to compete and survive. This statement says it all.

If we are serious about genuine decentralisation and addressing the increasingly lopsided nature of development and the tendency towards urbanisation, rural broadband access must be made a priority as part of the current national broadband scheme. I would like to believe that much of what the Minister referred to will be implemented via the roll-out of broadband, as it would be a considerable statement to people of rural Ireland to the effect that they can maintain their traditional way of life and live in their rural communities. Broadband access is essential and I urge the Minister to pursue it proactively so it will be available to the most isolated areas, those that are most discriminated against in terms of employment creation, making it a little easier for people to survive and compete in their communities.

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