Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I accept Deputy McHugh's point that a methodology that relies solely on population does leave rural areas in some difficulty. The way things have developed in recent times means that there is fierce competition between the private sector companies for the urban consumer, but some of the same companies are not very interested in the less populous areas to which Deputy McHugh makes reference. That is a concern.

I was looking at the electoral divisions for the counties, which is the subject of the motion. There is only 35%-58% coverage of the national broadband scheme in those areas. That leaves a gap. The purpose of the next generation task force is to devise a road map for the future that will identify where there is normal competition between the private sector operators and the rest, and figure out what the Government can do about the rest. There is a basic service everywhere nowadays, but I accept that it can be too basic in some areas and that there is a genuine problem with speed and quality that must be addressed.

I hear Deputy McHugh's essential point, which is that there is a necessity to re-examine the driving methodology of the regulator, which is population based. I certainly will take that on board.

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