Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a major issue here with the Government accepting there is a crisis in broadband provision in some rural communities which needs to be addressed forthwith. When will the Banteer exchange be upgraded? What are those reliant on the service who have had a complaint about it for the past several months to do in the meantime? It is high time there was a crisis meeting between the Minister, his Department and ComReg to address this problem because the machinery in place to address complaints about broadband provision is not delivering results.

I understand all the schemes and initiatives for broadband roll-out that have been announced. However, there is a crisis on the ground in broadband provision for rural communities. I fear for their future if nothing is done about it. When will the promised upgrade of the Banteer exchange happen? Will the Minister and his officials explain to Eircom that this issue was raised on the floor of the House and how dissatisfied those affected in Banteer are with the way their complaint has been handled over the past several months? Eircom has claimed it is not its fault but it is high time it accepted there is an issue there. It is making money on the backs of consumers but has not satisfactorily dealt with the complaint by the people of Banteer.

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