Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two dimensions to the points raised by the Deputy, which I thank her for raising. The first relates to the overall issue of connectivity in rural Ireland and the roll-out of the national broadband contract. It is no longer a plan. The contract was signed with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, in November last year and a copy of the contract between the Government and NBI was recently published in line with a previous commitment by the Government. The Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, indicated as far back as 4 September that design work is complete or ongoing in target townlands across 20 counties, with more than 83,000 premises surveyed to date. The laying of fibre should start shortly with the first fibre to home connection in Carrigaline, County Cork, expected around December 2020. The Minister is working with NBI to look at the feasibility of accelerating aspects of this roll-out to support remote working and connect communities to approximately 300 broadband connection points, identified by local authorities, to high-speed broadband this year. That will assist communities to quickly get free public access to high-speed broadband in advance of the main deployment under the national broadband plan. Those broadband connection points would include schools, library hubs, local sports facilities and other public places. That project is well under way and 136 of those sites have been installed to date. Increasing and enhancing that level of connectivity is central to regional development.

The mart situation right now exactly mirrors what happened from April to 8 June during the first phase of Covid-19 restrictions. The overall objective of moving to level 5 was to reduce gatherings and congregations and enable people to reduce their social contacts and the opportunity for social gatherings. That is essentially it. It is a blunt and crude instrument but it is necessary. The National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, has advised strongly that this is the course of action we should take for six weeks. We are in the second week now and the objective to the end of November is to get the numbers down. We have had submissions from many different Members of the House and the public more generally about different sectors, including gyms, marts, non-essential retail and pheasant shooting.

People have raised all sorts of issues, which I understand, and it is difficult for people. The purpose of level 5 is to work in our collective interest, to reduce the movement of people, gatherings and our social contacts, with a view to getting the numbers of cases down. We are in a downward trajectory compared with where we were two weeks ago. Level 3 was having an impact. The restrictions on interactions between households to one household only was having an impact. Level 5 will have an impact too. If we all work together, we can get the numbers down and get back to a reasonable position in December.

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