Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The reality is that in terms of broadband speeds Ireland is a two-speed country. While some cities and towns have excellent coverage, large tracts of rural areas are served by up to 200 Eircom exchanges that have not been upgraded and provide broadband speeds of only 3 Mbps to 4 Mbps. While I welcome the recent announcement, reiterated this morning by the Minister of State, regarding the upgrade and expansion of broadband services, it remains the case that by 2016 one third of this country will still not have access to any satisfactory broadband service.

I would like to outline for the Minister of State the situation facing a business in County Kerry, which indicates the current situation is anti-trade, anti-business and anti-rural Ireland.

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