Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, for standing in for the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, whom I understand is isolating, and rightly so.

I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could provide an update on the national broadband plan. In response to my Question No. 781 of 16 June 2020 the Minister, Deputy Ryan, said that 115,000 rural premises would be connected by the end of this year, with 70,000 to 100,000 per year connected the following year. Can the Minister of State confirm that a contract has been signed at this stage and that activities are under way?

I raise this issue because in the same response the Minister said that 300 broadband connection points, BCPs, will be prioritised for connection this year, that work was under way and that all remaining connections would be made by the end of the year. I understand locations are colour coded but I do not think we have used a strategic approach in our colour coding. I will give three examples of this in regard to my own constituency.

First, in Ballyshannon, south Donegal, which is one of the oldest towns in Ireland and has had a very difficult time in terms of unemployment, factory closures, shop closures and so on down through the years, there are two industrial estates, the Cornhill Business Park and the Erne Business Park, comprising 18 offices and 12 commercial units and from which Eircom services are just 300 m. Surely, the blue colour coding should be applied to this area and it should be done as a BCP before the end of the year. This could help build employment and assist in remote working in this time of Covid.

Second, Four Masters national school in Kinlough, north County Leitrim, which is not too far from the aforementioned place, caters for 300 pupils. Again, there is high-speed broadband a matter of metres away from it. Could the colour coding not be changed from amber to blue to ensure it is one of the BCPs, and thus the children in that school can benefit from it?

Third, in Strandhill village in County Sligo, where I live, along the entire seafront, there are many businesses that have no broadband coverage while the industrial estate near the airport and much of the village has high-speed broadband. Again, there is only a couple of hundred metres involved.

Surely, these three locations, one in Donegal, one in north Leitrim and one in Sligo - I am sure there are others throughout my own constituency and nationally - from a strategic point of view and for a relatively small cost should be included as broadband connection points and given the connectivity they deserve before the end of this year. This cannot cost a huge amount.

I understand that if contracts are signed the national broadband plan proper will not get under way until January but I stand to be corrected in that regard. In any event, we need to be strategic in regard to services which are only metres away from so many businesses, schools and premises that could facilitate employment in what is a very uncertain period ahead for many areas that are suffering greatly. My request is in regard to the Cornhill Business Park in Ballyshannon, the Erne Business Park in Ballyshannon, the Four Masters national school in north Leitrim - the Lurganboy community has been similarly ignored - and the proportion of Strandhill village where many business premises, despite the existence of high-speed broadband in the village, are not connected even though they are located only a couple of hundred metres from the village. With strategic focus we could make very fast progress under the BCP delivery project while the national broadband plan continues over the next number of years.

I ask the Minister of State to raise with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Department the possibility of the colour coding being changed to facilitate the delivery of services in these areas under the BCP project which is to be completed by the end of this year, as mentioned by the Minister in the response to Question No. 781 of 16 June last. This would not involve a great deal of work or expense but the upside would be huge in terms of employment creation.

See this speech in context