Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Many of my constituents do not have mobile phone coverage never mind broadband services. As Minister, I am determined to make sure that every single person, home and premises in this country gets access to high-speed broadband. I am determined not to stop until that happens.

It is important to point out that 27% of our population live in villages of fewer than 50 people. We have one of the most dispersed populations on the globe. Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet, came to Dublin last June. He said that Ireland was working on one of the hardest problems that we know about, that is, a highly distributed, highly rural and low-density population. He said that our success would be a real beacon for other populations that have similar rural populations.

No one in the world has done what we are doing. We were the first country in the world to bring electricity to every home in the country. We will be the first country in the world to bring high-speed broadband. I am monitoring this on an ongoing basis to ensure that it happens and that it takes not a day longer than is absolutely necessary. I will ensure that every home, no matter how isolated, gets high-speed broadband as quickly as possible.

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