Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

Yes, there has. As Deputy Durkan suggested, it is of varying quality. There are still pockets where calls are dropped and so on, as he suggested. However, immensely valuable quality spectrum is being released for the first time which will greatly enhance broadband and mobile services and it will make a considerable contribution to improving connectivity generally. Obviously, there are areas of the country, whether for reasons of topography, distance from masts or whatever, where one still relies on a pretty basic service. I hope to address that in a different area arising from the task force on next generation broadband which I chaired with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, and which comprised the chief executives of the leading telecommunications companies. I hope that the national broadband plan, which we will publish as a result, will give Deputy Durkan some comfort in this area. What we are talking about is not unique to Ireland, these difficulties obtain in most countries in the more difficult rural areas in particular, although not only in rural areas. What is coming down the track will be a considerable improvement.

See this speech in context