Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I begin by expressing my gratitude to our local media, including radio, newspaper and other correspondents. Communities in rural Ireland, isolated areas and everywhere else depend on these media, especially during this difficult period. Information over the airwaves from Tipp FM and Tipperary Mid West Radio are a lifeline to many. I hope they and the local newspapers will receive adequate support from people as well as from the Government because businesses do not have additional income to give them at the moment.

I express my sincere disappointment in the owner of Iconic Newspapers, Malcolm Denmark, for his appalling treatment of hardworking journalists, staff journalists and local correspondents. Deputy Lowry also referred to this. It is unbelievable but this is big business in modern Ireland. This pandemic is a scamdemic for big businesses. This behaviour was happening before the pandemic ever started. This man has destroyed the local papers and does not care about them. He paid himself the handsome sum of €3.1 million last year, yet staff have not received a wage increase since 2008. Benefits such as maternity leave and sick leave have been abolished. He is recklessly riding roughshod over good, decent, hard-working journalists with families and who have served their communities well for decades. To add insult to injury, he is claiming the Covid payment to pay his staff even though the business is profitable. He is not interested in the Tipperary Star, The Nationalist, The Midland Tribune, or any other newspapers, right up as far The Donegal Democrat in Deputy Pringle's constituency. It is outrageous what the Minister has allowed happen but it happened across the beef industry, with the broadband contract and everywhere else. It is Fine Gael policy to let these big business people do what they like to whom they like. The Minister talked about the regulator. He might as well talk about Santa Claus. These people do not care about regulation. Look at the way Malcolm Denmark has treated these newspaper titles, which have served their counties for decades and, in some cases, centuries. They have some excellent journalists but four were let go in The Nationalist and four were let go in the Tipperary Star. Two or three people are expected to do the work that seven or eight were doing. They are being driven like that and there is no respect. People must respect their workers.

I have questions on broadband. I have received complaints about Eir. Eir is much worse than it was 20 years ago. I remember when Albert Reynolds waved a phone at a Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis, which I was proud to attend, and said he would have a phone to everybody in a month. Now, it would take three, four or six months for an older person to get a phone repaired. It is disgusting what has happened.

Will the Department please provide specific details of the deployment of fibre broadband in County Tipperary? How many properties in the county were supplied with broadband to date in 2020? How many properties in the county will be supplied with broadband between now and the end of the year? When will the deployment of the national broadband plan be made available? There have been more announcements on this than I have had hot dinners but people do not have it. I refer to farmers, students and those working from home, children trying to access their school work or even teachers who need broadband in order to be able to liaise with them. Farmers need to be able to fill out their application forms. Students need to be able to fill out their CAO forms. Broadband is a necessary tool now and we are being blackguarded in rural Ireland.

What is most frustrating for people is when they realise they are located only a few hundred yards from properties in the blue area with a broadband connection point but they still cannot get connected, nor can they get any answers. Another issue that needs to be addressed concerns Eir customers.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland comes under the watch of the Minister. It was said there was loads of money and a large number of applications were made, but there is not money and contracts have not been paid. People cannot say a word because they have their hand inside in the dog's mouth and that dog bites if one says something. A contractor recently contacted me who came off the payment to go back to work and he was not allowed to go back to work. I believe the simple reason is that it is another scam and the Department does not have the money to pay him. He is working on a building site on his own or perhaps with one other person. I believe the Department does not have the money to pay him.

A lot has happened in dear mother Ireland. She is living with O'Leary in the grave. I will tell the Minister about Fine Gael policy. Now Fine Gael is cobbling a Government together again with Fianna Fáil and others to try to ensure the big businesses survive and thrive. They do not only want to survive, they want to thrive and walk on workers, small businesses and companies. Deputy Lowry mentioned conglomerates but he did not mention anything about the racing industry conglomerates we have in Tipperary. I totally support the racing industry, but what about the conglomerate that is the Coolmore equine industries. It is buying up all the land, gobbling every parcel of land that can be bought in Tipperary and beyond. One cannot criticise it either or one will be banished to hell or to Connacht. It is nearly the new god in places.

It is time to rethink our approach to the pandemic and let Ireland live and operate again. We must open up our churches and let people of whatever faith go to worship. We must change the 2 m rule. It is codswallop at this stage. We criticised Hungary for what it did but we should take a leaf out of Hungary's book and see how it dealt with the pandemic.

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