Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who is speaking in place of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. He is somewhat of a jack of all trades tonight and has spoken on social housing, Irish Water and, now, broadband. It is not an enviable task. I welcome him to the House. I have discussed this issue in the Dáil in recent weeks. We are all aware of how critical high-speed broadband is to our daily lives. This need has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent lockdowns.

I will highlight the failure of Eir and National Broadband Ireland, NBI, to deliver in parts of my constituency. The people I represent are extremely disappointed with the customer service Eir is providing and with its approach to the roll-out of the national broadband plan. Stories of people being left in a queue or on hold for hours on end are the norm rather than the exception. Eir appeared before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications Networks last week to explain and excuse its poor customer care performance. It did not cover itself in glory on that occasion.

I will not provide local examples because I know the Minister of State will be well aware of this great crisis. We expect people to work from home, study from home and run businesses from home. They simply cannot do this with the service being provided. Is Eir willing to fill the gaps in intervention areas to which it was providing fibre broadband before discontinuing such provision? I know many people who are not connected but whose neighbours across the road are connected. This causes much frustration.

My office is regularly contacted with regard to Eir and NBI. People often seek updates in respect of postcodes in the intervention area. People are requesting updates and wondering when they will be connected. They come to my office because they have been disregarded by Eir and other providers or because they cannot get through to Eir. This, in itself, is a problem. Such people receive generic responses stating the number of areas that have been surveyed. What people really want is a timeline as to when they will be connected. Would it be possible for people to receive quarterly updates in respect of their areas? There is surely a more effective way to communicate with people.

I know the Minister of State will say that this is a matter for the provider and for Eir but, on behalf of my constituents, I plead with him to put pressure on Eir to provide a better service. Two weeks ago, Peter Hendrick, CEO of National Broadband Ireland, said that, while Covid-19 has presented many challenges, the roll-out of the broadband plan was on schedule. This is very welcome. When the full roll-out is completed over the next three years or so, that will also be very welcome. The crux of the matter, however, is not whether a customer will be connected, because ultimately everyone will be. The issue is when that will happen. Clarity on the timing is key.

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