Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the roll-out of broadband, a crisis is being experienced in communities which cannot access broadband. In terms of what is being trotted out as State intervention with respect to the national broadband plan, during the past four years there have been six different attempts announcing a new broadband plan. I was Opposition spokesperson on communication in the previous Dáil. The then Minister, former Deputy Pat Rabbitte, to great fanfare, announced in 2014 that there was a scheme and his successor, the former Minister, Alex White, had another scheme. We debated it across the floor of the Dáil in the context of State aids and it was to brought to Europe and passed by it. There was to be a procurement process and contracts signed. However, nothing happening about it. The latest announcement is that it will be further delayed than was envisaged. If somebody had said in 2013 or 2014 that we would still be talking about the national broadband plan in 2017, we would be laughed at. There is a crisis due to the lack of access. Deputy Martin spoke about this yesterday. He visited Kanturk and spoke to small business owners. We have apartheid across the country in terms of broadband access, not only for people in rural Ireland but for communities who do not have access to it.

The Minister announced that Eir will connect 300,000 homes but, as I understand it, that is boosting the connectivity they already have. The reality is that the communities, households and businesses which want broadband cannot access it. There does not seem to be any coherent strategic plan in place. Where is the bid for it and the development of State aid to intervene to ensure broadband is brought to every community? We are dividing the country on this in a major way. It is the same as what happened with the provision of telephones in the 1970s and electricity connection in the 1940s and 1950s. I ask the Minister to give us a realistic plan and not some palaver that the Department has trotted out that there will be something in 2019, 2021 or some time into the next century. We need urgent action on this now.

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