Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to address the issue of broadband here today. The importance of the digital economy cannot be underestimated. Broadband is a huge resource for businesses and there are significant growth opportunities for businesses that trade online. It opens up a global market for rural tourism and for small artisan producers. It is also a huge resource for schools, private homes and organisations. Without broadband, expensive electronic equipment such as white boards bought by primary schools is undermined and efforts by Age Action to promote computer literacy among the elderly are thwarted. Irish Rural Network estimates that up to 10,000 jobs are lost in rural areas every year because there is a poor broadband service or none at all. Our cities have world class Internet speeds and distribution but rural areas rank among the worst served regions of Europe. Rural broadband is no longer a luxury but an economic necessity. There is no more important issue in terms of economic infrastructure and the future prospects of rural Ireland. Broadband will make rural Ireland sustainable into the future. Since 2004 there have been four Government initiatives to improve broadband, all of which have worked to a point, but major problems remain. Broadband has become faster and more places than ever are served, but 40% of the population still lacks commercial coverage. Ireland has some of the most pronounced two tier coverage in Europe. High speeds in urban areas have obscured poor coverage elsewhere.

Only 35% of Irish premises have broadband speeds of 10 Mbps or higher. More significantly, only 69% of Irish homes have broadband faster than a modest 4 Mbps. Ireland ranks No. 42 in the world in the distribution of fast broadband services. Commercial companies advertise broadband speeds of 240 Mbps in cities and towns, while those in rural areas subsist on speeds of 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps or have no broadband at all. The digital divide has become a chasm. Some areas of west Cork have never had a broadband service. In areas such as Ballylicken and Skibbereen, subsequent to the merger of 3 and O2, many who had a broadband service have been left without one. To have a bad broadband service is one thing, but to be left with no service is absolutely unacceptable in this day and age. For some, having been customers of 3 for five years, their Internet service was taken without warning and they were told they would no longer have a service within the scope required to pick up 3G broadband. This has had huge consequences for those affected. Businesses are suffering, individuals are unable to work from home and people have been left isolated. The lack of Internet makes life extremely difficult. I call on the Minister to ensure a comprehensive investigation by ComReg to examine the reasons behind this and to ensure those who have lost their broadband service will have it reinstated as soon as possible.

I have very serious concerns for private broadband operators all over the country. Companies like Digitalforge in west Cork, which are serving communities, may find it non-viable to continue if the national broadband scheme is rolled out. In a statement to the Dáil recently, the Minister said that 60% of the country could be covered in two years. We all know where this 60% will be. It will be in areas that are well covered already. This could mean taking customers in built-up areas in that 60% from private operators and forcing them to shut down their business, leaving the major parts of rural Ireland and west Cork, which are part of the 40% that cannot be covered, without any broadband. This is a very serious challenge. I urge the Minister to sit down with these operators before this goes ahead and iron out the difficulties. While we all want a state-of-the-art broadband service, we cannot forget the private operators that have served rural communities well over the years.

I am encouraged and confident the Minister will iron out all the difficulties. We have had many discussions and meetings since my election. Today we are hearing worries about ownership in 27 years but the problems we have in rural broadband now is that there is little or no broadband.

Any discussions on broadband should include mobile phone coverage as similar problems exist and similar solutions can be found for the good of the country.

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