Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Coveney for bringing this issue before the House. I commend the motion. A number of Deputies have discussed the availability of broadband in rural areas and I have had many conversations with them about it. Deputy D'Arcy, for example, told me that in parts of north Wexford it is impossible to get broadband. When one considers that this area lies on the Rosslare to Belfast axis, the key economic hub of the country, it is incredible that there is no broadband access there. When I visited the Athlone Chamber of Commerce and met Senator McFadden, she told me that during the election campaign the lack of access to broadband was the main issue in north Westmeath. The situation is that bad.

If the Government is seeking a historical precedent for managing this, it should adopt the same approach to broadband availability as was adopted to rural electrification, which means every town and every village with no exceptions. I do not intend to be parochial in this debate. As the Fine Gael spokesperson on enterprise, trade and employment, it is my job to be the voice of business and enterprise. Broadband is a huge issue for business in Ireland; there is immense disquiet, from multinationals to small business, about the extent to which Ireland is falling behind in this area and in many others. We have spoken previously about Ireland's loss of competitiveness. Since the Government took office, Ireland has fallen from being the fourth most competitive country in the world to being the 22nd. It is disappointing that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment is not present to make a contribution to this debate, given that it is such a key issue for business.

It is also disappointing that Deputy O'Rourke, who is responsible for the botched privatisation of Eircom which has largely left us in this situation, did not think there would be enough publicity in coming to the House tonight to attack the Government on this issue and, indeed, her record on it. The Government's narrative on the economy is that it is going through a downturn that is largely related to the downturn in the construction sector. Although there is some truth in that, there is also much untruth. The downturn in the construction sector is unmasking a more fundamental problem in the economy, the loss of competitiveness. That is driven by high inflation and infrastructure. Broadband is a key element of the infrastructure along with roads, railways and ports.

A few examples will demonstrate how bad is our position. The average advertised speed for broadband in Ireland is 3mbps, which puts Ireland behind Hungary and Greece. In fact, the only OECD countries in a worse position than Ireland are Turkey and Mexico. One can quote Homer Simpson in a famous episode of "The Simpsons": "Did we lose a war or something?" In France and Korea the average advertised speed is 40mbps while in Japan it is 99mbps. Broadband penetration is only at 15% in Ireland compared to 35% in Denmark. John McElligott, managing director of eBay Ireland, whom I, Deputy Kenny and Deputy Coveney will be meeting tomorrow, has said he is embarrassed to tell his peers in other countries about Ireland's interconnectivity problems. Michael O'Dwyer of Pigsback.com said that for such a supposedly advanced economy, our broadband situation is pathetic. Another key chief executive officer, Donal McGuinness, has spoken about how horrendously expensive broadband is in this country. In Germany, for example, a person can get broadband connection for €20 per month for four years.

Ten or 12 years ago Ireland wanted to be the best, with the best education, the best cost base, the lowest taxes and the best technology. Since then we have become complacent, fat, lazy and uncompetitive. The Government must wake up to our situation, accept that it is a mess and implement the proposals in the Fine Gael document.

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