Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

The Minister speaks of rural Ireland as if it were an alien planet. It has an extensive telephone system, but people cannot get broadband connections because the Government has not invested in upgrading lines. On a regional road near Larha in north Tipperary, a person cannot get a chip and pin service because the telephone is too far from the exchange and the line is out of date.

The Minister referred to a tree trunk. Taking Thurles, a large provincial town, as an example, there is no trunk because no tree was planted. It was left out of the MANs project. Why is this occurring and why will the Minister not take responsibility and provide a broadband service in a provincial town like Thurles? He should not state that it is up to competition to handle, as it is up to the Government to give guidance and investment so that places such as north Tipperary can benefit. Perhaps it would be worth the Minister's while to visit and see that we in rural Ireland are not ETs.

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