Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response and acknowledge that he has taken on a very difficult brief with the best of intentions since the Taoiseach announced his appointment in May last. However, I remain gravely concerned that the need for prioritisation of broadband roll-out for rural areas is being severely underestimated within the Government’s national broadband plan. Many rural and regional towns are being forced to endure unacceptably substandard broadband services as a result of the current digital divide.

The recently released switcher report revealed that certain parts of rural Ireland have broadband speeds 36 times slower than speeds in our capital. It is simply not acceptable that homeowners and business owners in areas such as Clonmore in Carlow are being forced to accept speeds averaging 5.58 Mbps, while just 70 km up the N81 in Drimnagh, Dublin, they are among the fastest in the country at 72.15 Mbps.

This example points to serious inequality in the distribution of broadband under the national broadband plan and highlights the urgent need for equality of access for homes and businesses in rural Ireland.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Research by Vodafone Ireland in November found that one third of rural businesses would consider moving their premises to a nearby town or city given that they can no longer afford to be left out of the digital economy.

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