Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

I acknowledge the sentiments in the reply. One of the proposals put to me locally is that one can establish a resilient circle connecting the metropolitan area networks from the Bishopstown roundabout going to Dunmanway, Bantry, Skibbereen, Kinsale and back into Carrigaline and make it part of the Cork city metropolitan area network because that has global connectivity. We are all well aware of the constraints on Government but this is one of the Departments that can take the lead in terms of providing the infrastructure necessary to encourage the expansion of jobs and the creation of jobs. Progress has been made in Kinsale in recent times, which I welcome. With no pun intended, I urge departmental officials to accelerate their involvement with the officials in Cork County Council who are tasked with handling the delivery of the networks in towns across Cork.

There is a strong appetite for networks in Skibbereen. Putting the onus on the potential user of the service is all very well, but a Department-led initiative is required if the networks are to be connected. It is one way to stop the perception of an attack on rural Ireland, a notion that I reject. Through this process, we can provide infrastructure to create the conditions that are necessary for job creation.

When one considers Departments, spending and budgets, the Departments of Health, Education and Skills and Social Protection come to mind, but the Minister's Department can take the lead in job creation.

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