Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely thank the members of the Technical Group and their staff for allowing me some of their speaking time. This is an important Bill and I compliment and sincerely thank the Minister for bringing forward this progressive legislation. It is important from the view of having access to a proper fibre telecommunications service in the Irish market. It is as important as a good road going into a county or up a boreen. The last mile of road up to a person's house is the most important mile of road in the country to that person. Equally, it is important to the young people living with their parents, people trying to run a business, having proper communications and a proper fibre-optic network into their homes is no longer a luxury. Some years ago it might have been an aspiration of people but now it is a must-have. In doing what the Minister is doing, he, his staff and the people working with him deserve to be commended. The Minister has my wholehearted support with regard to this important legislation and I am glad to be present in the Chamber to speak on it.

It is very important for the State to protect its investment. With respect to any type of services we have, it is important that we protect our ownership of that asset. This Bill is helping job creation. As a small business operator in a rural location, I know how important it is to have proper access and high-speed connectivity at all times. It is not a luxury; it is an essential tool of any small business. Whether it is a young person at home doing his or her studies after school and needing access to proper broadband, the parents trying to conduct business or do work, it is vital. As to whether I see this move as creating jobs, I certainly do and the Deputy is a progressive Minister in bringing the legislation before the House.

It was neglectful of me at the outset not to pay a special compliment to people in the ESB and in Eircom for the excellent work they did over the Christmas period. A very close friend of mine, Mr. Tom O'Shea, works in Eircom and the Minister will be interested to hear this story.

From the week before Christmas to date, he has had one day off, Christmas day. He has had no other day off. Under the stewardship of his boss, Mr. Pat O'Sullivan, who supervises Eircom in our area, they had up to a thousand faults to deal with. Eircom made a decision that I am not too impressed with to create a package for the excellent staff to leave on 31 December. Talk about bad timing. It was ironic at a time when the service was crumbling, with hundreds of faults. There are people who still do not have their telephone lines connected.

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