Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Does the Minister agree that the poor broadband reception in many parts of the country, especially rural Ireland, is one of the critical constraints restricting people from creating successful businesses in small towns and villages and in larger towns and cities? The Government has failed to address the Eircom issue. The Fianna Fáil privatisation of Eircom turned into a disaster from an investment point of view. Does the Government have any proposals in the context of the EU recovery programme to recover the significant amount of ground lost? We were leaders in connectivity and linkages for telecommunications up to the time of Eircom. Since then we have continued to go downhill and we are now significantly behind competitor countries.

Does the Minister agree with the proposal to reduce the amount of red tape in respect of the European recovery programme? It is possible to go to any country in Europe and find food markets operating. In these markets women can bake and make apple tarts for the markets and for local restaurants and so on. However, in Ireland it is not possible to make an apple tart and sell it in a local market. One almost risks jail for doing so. Does the Government have any take on how to reduce red tape in respect of small enterprise initiatives?

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