James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a team effort, and I wish the Minister well in his efforts and endeavours to tackle the problem. Unfortunately, the record has not been good to date. I wish to take issue with one comment the Minister made, namely, that we are on time. We are patently not on time. I appreciate that the Minister was not in government in 2011, but the previous Government committed to 90% coverage by 2015.

In 2012 a task force was established under the then Minister, Pat Rabbitte, which committed to 100% coverage by 2020. These are noble goals and lofty aspirations, but unfortunately we are nowhere near them. We currently rank 42 in the global rankings for high speed broadband and in terms of international competitiveness, attracting foreign direct investment and supporting our own people, we are well down the league table.

I could quote statistics, but can speak more powerfully from personal experience. I live in Sallins, a town in the commuter belt of North Kildare, in an estate in a very urban area about five minutes walk from the nearest train station. On a good day I get perhaps 30 Mb per second, which is not a bad speed, but according to the US authorities it is barely broadband. In fact, under 25 Mb per second is now considered to be narrow band according to US metrics. If I drive a few miles down the road towards Dublin to places like Kilteel or Eadestown on the Kildare-Dublin border, I find I cannot get broadband at all. These places are less than 18 km from Dublin city centre.

I have much sympathy for my colleagues in the west and other rural areas, but even in the greater Dublin area and hinterlands of the city there are places which have no broadband. In villages and towns like those in which I live, we might get 30 Mb on a good day. Many areas of the countryside cannot access any broadband. It is a major issue. Deputy Dooley has highlighted many reasons this issue is important, including educational, commercial and competitiveness considerations. That highlights the stark reality of the situation.

I welcome the national broadband plan, which we have been hearing about for five years at this stage. It is very well and good, but I would like to see it accelerated. There are also many things we could do as the framework is already there. I have worked with operators in Kildare and elsewhere to roll out broadband. Drawing from personal experience, I know that a number of obstacles exist, such as planning and technical anomalies that hold up progress. Even without the broadband plan, the tender and the significant investment and work programme that lie ahead, we could ensure progress is made today or tomorrow to strip away some of the impediments that exist. There are widely varying local development plans and contribution schemes. In some cases local authorities put exemption zones in place, and there are other anomalies. Any provider seeking to implement a wide programme faces multiple planning authorities with multiple approaches. The lack of a streamlined approach is a barrier to progress.

State subvention is required in areas where provision is not commercially viable, but once some of the barriers are removed the cost comes down and the commercial reality comes to the fore in many areas. I welcome the Minister’s commitment to transposing the EU directive. The target was 1 July. There are many common-sense ideas in it in terms of making the plan work and taking State infrastructure that is already in place and making it available. The directive is useful in that it refers to infrastructure in State ownership and the commissioning of public buildings. Another difficulty that arises is access. One could ask whom a provider in the market talks to if he or she wants to access a council building, a Garda station or a Coillte site. There is a lack of communications, understanding or responsibility in some State agencies. I put that to the Minister as an issue that must be addressed if the broadband plan is to work. We can transpose the directive, which is welcome and needed and is full of common sense, but we must go a little further and put a plan in place to manage the process.

Deputy Grealish referred to double-digging. Very few things get people’s back up more than a road being dug up again and again. There is a reference to ducting being provided in all new roads projects. However, I wish to add a caveat in that regard. The State can put ducting underground, but the issue that arises is how an operator would gain access to it, and, if it leases it, what the price would be. In some cases providers have told me it is cheaper for them to get a licence to dig up the road and lay their own cable, even if that is a foot away from the cable that was put in by the State. That is a bizarre situation. The State should acquire a fair market rent for the infrastructure but it should not be the case that providers have to dig up the road a second time just to make the process work for them.

Broadband is badly needed, and these are a couple of suggestions that could transform the market overnight. The national broadband plan is a lofty ideal. It is badly needed in many areas where it might be non-competitive and non-commercial, but there are quick fixes we could put in place in the morning. Such changes should be implemented immediately.

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