Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)

I thank the Minister for his reply. No part of County Kerry has yet been upgraded to next generation uncongested broadband. As the county is the main tourism hub in Ireland, it is imperative that this is rolled out in the short term. The problem was highlighted at the recent Irish Open golf championship in Killarney. The broadband speeds available for visiting journalists fell far short of what is available to the media in other developed countries they would visit in carrying out their job. Only the good will and expertise of the local technicians on the ground who patchworked the existing service kept the system going over that week. If it were not for them, the system would have virtually collapsed.

The same applies to conferences. Large numbers of people attend conferences in Killarney and other parts of Kerry. With the huge influx of tourists and so on-----

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