Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is welcome that I finally have the opportunity to raise this issue. There is the roll-out of broadband to many homes, although other homes just metres away will not be able to avail of the roll-out. This and the previous Government's record in the roll-out of broadband has been dire. The facts do not lie. Ireland lies 42nd in the global ranking for the distribution of high speed broadband, while 40% of the population and 96% of the country lack access to commercial or fibre broadband coverage. That represents a figure of approximately 2.3 million premises.

On behalf of the Government, the Minister signed an agreement with Eir to provide broadband for 300,000 premises. I want to know how these premises were identified. Clearly, it was done by way of a desktop exercise, with no relevance given to how it would impact on the ground. I can give scores of examples where there is the roll-out of broadband to one house on a road but not to the next, or it is occurring at either end of the road, leaving five houses in the middle without a connection to broadband. They include places such as Lynn Road, Mullingar; Tornanstown; Gaybrook; Knockaville; Killucan; Cumminstown; Ballinacarrig; Irishtown, Mullingar; Kilbeggan; Coola Lawns, where certain houses in the estate have access to broadband, while others do not; Ballinamudda; Moate; and Killinure North, Athlone. These are just a number of examples.

In reply to a parliamentary question the Minister said any decision by the company to provide a service for premises not covered by the commitment agreement would be a matter for it, not one in which he had any role. That is factually incorrect. No matter when I contact the company about the provision of broadband in all of these areas, it states it is prohibited from rolling out the service any further. It is disgraceful.

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