James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil supports this Bill. We support all measures to improve connectivity to all areas that need it desperately. The measures within it are sensible, necessary, proportionate and will address broadband provision in Mayo and Galway. We had the same difficulties in Kildare North with broadband provision being inadequate in many cases. The problems are replicated in many areas throughout the country so we understand well the need for this Bill. Many of us have said that broadband is a basic service, no more than a power connection, a water supply to the house and other basic utilities were many years ago.

While we support and welcome the Bill, it is very specific to a particular project and area and it strikes me that there is potential to go a lot further. I introduced a Bill about a year ago, which has not progressed beyond Second Stage, that would tackle many of the issues raised in this Bill. I refer to site sharing and requiring operators to make available masts, ducting and the kind of materials referenced in this Bill on a national basis and to say that they can be laid once and used many times. It would require planning permission to take note of previous infrastructure in a particular area before a local authority decided to grant or decline an application. In other words, it would encourage and coerce, where necessary, operators to reuse kit and infrastructure so that many providers could use the one set of infrastructure. This would seem to make roll-out a lot easier, fast track roll-out in many areas and tackle many of the practical logistical difficulties that have bedevilled the national broadband plan and made commercial roll-out difficult. It is certainly commercially unviable in a great many areas. I may table amendments on Committee Stage along those lines. It seems there is an opportunity to merge the Bills or certainly take the good of both and submit them as amendments, so I may well return to that on Committee Stage.

We know the national broadband plan is in difficulty, although I hope it is not in too much difficulty. We have had much debate in the House in recent months on where it is at now. We are well aware that it is down to one provider but the tender is yet to be awarded. The Minister, Deputy Naughten, said previously that it was good news because it would mean that shovels would be in the ground more quickly, which is a very optimistic way of looking at it, to put it mildly. I hope he is right because the rural communities and pretty much everyone in the State needs it, so I hope we get to that stage soon.

Previous performance is always an indicator of future outputs. In terms of previous targets, it was stated in 2011 that 90% of homes would be provided with broadband in 2015 and 100% by 2020. That is not on track. The target was reduced to 85% in 2016. Again, we are not on track for that. The Taoiseach recently stated that 75% of homes would be connected by the end of the year. That is 15% lower than was previously stated and it is three years behind schedule.

I will not labour the point but the national broadband plan is well behind. Its reach and timetable are well behind where it is supposed to be by now. We know it is in difficulty, with two of three tenderers withdrawing recently, but we wish it well because it is imperative that it succeeds.

In the same vein, this Bill is a sensible set of measures to address a particular issue in a particular area. We will support it and vote accordingly, but it is essential that the same approach be taken on a national level. It is great that Galway and Mayo and the transatlantic cables will get the priority, but there is an entire country to be looked after as well. I may table amendments on Committee Stage but Fianna Fáil will be supporting the Bill.

See this speech in context