James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for giving us an opportunity to speak about the important issues facing rural and community development. As somebody who was born and raised in a community in a rural area in east Cork in Killeagh in the Youghal area as a child, I am very passionate about ensuring we make our rural communities more sustainable. We need to focus on rural development in rapidly changing times, particularly given some of the very significant issues facing so many families in rural areas.

Earlier today the Joint Committee on Transport and Communication Networks heard about the broadband connection problems facing families with adult children who lost their jobs and decided to move back to their rural homes rather than attend physical lectures because of Covid-19. Many people are struggling with broadband connections. The problem is multifaceted, and we need to approach it in a cross-departmental fashion. The Department of Rural and Community Development has specific oversight for issues facing rural communities and the welfare issues of people in rural areas. We need to improve how we communicate the roll-out of rural broadband and the Minister of State should place special focus on that.

The important thing is to give people clarity. Many people approach me under the impression that their local Deputy can intervene in the roll-out of broadband connections to individual homes, which is simply wrong. None of us has that ability. However, we should be able to give an accurate answer to our constituents who want to know for certain when they will be connected to the national broadband network, which is critical.

I will use the latter half of my contribution to outline my very strong feelings about the opportunities our smaller towns have, including Midleton, Youghal, Mallow, Fermoy, Mitchelstown and Cobh. They have public libraries in most cases, but the services being offered by their libraries could be greatly expanded.

Universities and colleges across the country provide students with the opportunity to sit down and study in an appropriate space with others who are trying to achieve the same goal in terms of furthering their education. A direct support mechanism for local authorities, through the Department of Rural and Community Development, would be greatly beneficial and would facilitate the upgrading of libraries all over the country, including in Cork East which I am very honoured to represent. Such support would allow for an increase in the amount of space available to those who are studying, including adults engaged in further education. A home is not always a suitable place to study, particularly if it is small or occupied by numerous people. It is very important for people to have some peace and quiet when they are trying to study and we must be conscious of the fact that not every family has that luxury. We must be balanced and fair in our approach and try to ensure that all citizens have equal access to facilities that will enable them to further their education. We must support them as a State.

I am very passionate about a particular project in Midleton. The library in Midleton is in a beautiful old building on the main street. We have been trying for a very long time to get funding for Cork County Council which has put wonderful plans in place, through its librarians and staff on the ground, for the library. There is an abundance of space available in that library which could provide community facilities and study spaces for students from Midleton and the surrounding region. In Youghal we also have an almost shovel-ready project for which we are trying to secure funding for the local authority. The Department of Rural and Community Development is better suited than any to step in and work alongside other Departments to come up with a comprehensive plan to improve education in rural communities and in that context, one very readily available asset is the public library. We must make sure that our public libraries and other public and community spaces have access to high-speed broadband.

See this speech in context