Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. The speed and urgency with which the Government has addressed the broadband issue and the need to ensure all parts of the country receive fibre broadband has been lamentably slow. It is unacceptable that many parts of the country are waiting for the State-assisted scheme on which they will depend to achieve fibre broadband. The Minister indicated in his response that the tender he is planning to bring to procurement will specify "a minimum download speed of at least 30 Mbps". Will he comment on the future-proofing of such a level of speed? It is simply not good enough. We should be seeking to ensure the State scheme provides a fibre broadband service to every household in the country. This is what was done when electricity and telephone services were rolled out many years ago. We should be taking the same approach to broadband services. The Minister has indicated the Department must be technology neutral with regard to the technological platforms proposed by the various companies that tender for the delivery of broadband. If he were to indicate that the technology used should be fibre broadband, he would have much more control. It would be more expensive, but the Minister would be ensuring not only that every household gets high-speed fibre broadband once and for all but also that the service is future-proofed. Will the Minister comment on the suitability of that in the context of the minimum speeds he is proposing?

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