Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I heard this before, with the timescale set out. I am glad to hear the Minister's response but seven years is a long time. I come from rural Ireland and I am asked daily by constituents when they will get broadband and when it will be rolled out. Businesses depend on broadband. People want to move back from Dublin and other cities into their own rural areas. They could do that if broadband was available. We have a colour coded map and people in areas marked amber are asking when they will have broadband. They need speed. Modern society needs this and we must get something up and running soon. It is hard for me to tell my constituents broadband may be available in certain areas seven years from now. That is too long to wait. We have been talking about rolling out rural broadband for years now and it is time to get it done. We have done a lot of scrutinising but it is still not happening. I take the Minister's assurance that it is going to happen but can it be fast-tracked?

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