Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

In case the Acting Chairman thinks my matter has something to do with the number of bachelors in west Cork, Dunmanway, Kinsale or Skibbereen, MAN is short for metropolitan area network. I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me the opportunity to raise this matter regarding fibre optic infrastructure and the creation of jobs and the provision of investment in rural Ireland.

The metropolitan area network, MAN, is high-end infrastructure. There is a perception that rural Ireland is being attacked in an effort to make savings. I refer to the excellent initiatives, not least taken by the Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, to include primary schools in the European project and want to see us build on existing infrastructure. There are three metropolitan area networks, MANs, lying dormant in west Cork over the past seven years. They are connected in Skibbereen, Kinsale and Dunmanway. To date, they remain to be connected to the relevant service providers. All of the MANs are managed and operated by e|net who were appointed by the Department following a procurement process to make the networks available to the telecommunications sector.

Each of the three networks holds within it the vast potential to create hundreds of jobs, if not more, and to equip local businesses in the areas I have outlined, Kinsale, Dunmanway and Skibbereen. I refer to equipping those businesses with high broadband capacity and unlimited speed. The economic benefits of having metropolitan area networks in a rural town are wide ranging and self-explanatory. Every town, regardless of whether it is in an urban or rural setting needs a broadband-literate population and business community to further develop itself economically. A modern and effective communications network is essential and is the bedrock of any business or thriving rural economy and community. Everyone benefits from that, from the large corporations to educational providers and Government institutions among others. Broadband delivered on a fibre optic cable is an essential requirement for all of that.

In addition to high capacity and unlimited speed, the MANs are separate from other networks and thus provide an alternative and increase competition. Each connected network is routed to access the major industrial and commercial area and provides the essential infrastructure heavy broadband users need to have the services they require delivered to their door. In addition, a metropolitan area network can increase workplace flexibility for smaller businesses, as it can accommodate people who are increasingly beginning to blur the lines between home and work boundaries. By enabling greater broadband capability, daily administration tasks could be performed at home thus helping to relieve traffic congestion and allow for flexible child care arrangements. Despite the unemployment crisis those are obviously still issues for people who are affected by them. The failure to date to connect any of those networks to the relevant services required to make each one go live is a disappointment for the towns concerned.

The infrastructure is in place. It is about connectivity. We are not starting from a blank canvas. A former Deputy from my constituency, the former Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mr. Joe Walsh, secured funding for the provision of a fibre optic network to the technology park in Clonakilty approximately 11 years ago. There are approximately 1,000 jobs in the park, which is due to the vision of the former Minister, Mr. Joe Walsh. I acknowledge that. The work has stood the test of time throughout the economic crisis with regard to what investment in rural broadband can do for sustainable jobs in a rural setting.

Business people from all over west Cork say that when one goes to State agencies such as Enterprise Ireland or the IDA for grant assistance the first question asked is whether there is an appropriate fibre optic infrastructure in the local area. The answer is self-explanatory. I await the Minister's reply with great anticipation. I will comment further following the reply.

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