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

I am concerned about the way the national broadband plan has been stumbling along and about how it is being rolled out. In 2011, the Government promised that 90% of homes would have high-speed broadband by 2015 and everybody would have it by 2020. By 2016, this had slipped to 85% of homes by this year. The Taoiseach recently said that only 75% of homes were being targeted by the end of this year. It is slipping constantly and the attempt to deliver is slow. We see poor Internet connections, torturing people in so many rural communities. It is constantly buffering and then suddenly collapses. That is how people see the national broadband programme in my constituency of Cork North-West.

Last September, SIRO backed out owing to the lengthy and complicated process. Eir has now dropped out. Householders are concerned the whole thing could collapse or they could be left with highly expensive connections. That is frustrating for thousands of people across rural Cork desperately in need of high-speed broadband. Last night I met with people in Ballinora which overlooks Cork city and is adjacent to EMC, one of the largest cloud computing companies in the world. However, they struggle to get an Internet connection or even a mobile phone connection. It is the same in places like Ballinageary, Ballinagree, Barrahaurin and in so many other places across rural Cork.

Access to broadband is one of the biggest issues in rural Ireland. Farmers need it to apply for their agricultural payments, students need it and householders need it for online banking and county council services, including housing applications. Broadband has the potential to be a game-changer for so many rural communities giving opportunities to attract business, tourism, etc. The Government needs to stop talking about it and start delivering realistic high-speed quality affordable services for communities.

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