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

I do not doubt the Minister for a moment. Coming from Roscommon, the Minister, Deputy Naughten, understands it. However, if one takes the figure of one in three that he quoted for Cork North West, that will be places such as Ballincollig, Macroom, Charleville, Kanturk. I am talking about other regions such as western Duhallow and other rural communities. The Minister will forgive me for being cynical but I have listened to Minister for four or five years saying they are making good progress. What does that mean? What does reporting on timelines mean? As society is moving on and as technology develops and proper broadband becomes a basic tool of life, it is even more serious than electricity or the phone, it is more like running water. I appeal to the Minister to grab this with both hands because it is a crisis. When people look at buying houses or sites, they want to know about broadband connectivity and when will it be in place. When I said I was raising this issue, many people said they do not even have mobile phone coverage in some areas of the constituency, never mind broadband. Good progress is not enough. The Minister needs to tell us what the timelines are because we have heard it all before.

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