Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Since the pandemic began, the need for good broadband throughout the country has become more apparent. As the national broadband plan is being rolled out, there are problems with regard to tree-cutting, the polers and even the guys putting up the wires, although hopefully those problems can be overcome. It is unusual to hear contractors say that as bad as Eir was when they were working for that company, this crowd does not seem to be organised at all. That is despite €7 million having been spent, according to an article in The Irish Timesyesterday, on oversight to do this properly. Hopefully, over the coming months it will be got right.

In 2017, we were all invited to Ballinasloe, where Enet and SSE were rolling out broadband. Other counties were mentioned but we were interested mostly in our own. The word, and it is still on the Department's website, was that Ballinasloe would be getting the fastest broadband speeds anywhere in the world. That was still on the website this morning. That was great, and people from different backgrounds jumped up and down. I have seen so many quotations welcoming this great announcement by the spin doctoring of the previous Government.

Garbally College, a fine college in Ballinasloe, is located beside Scoil Uí Cheithearnaigh, an Irish-speaking school that has 204 youngsters. Ballinasloe hospital is located 50 yd to the front of it, a housing estate is 50 yd to the left of it and Ardscoil Mhuire is perhaps 200 yd or 300 yd away from it. Those other schools have broadband brought to them, but funnily enough, despite appeals from the board of management, the principal and the parents' association, this school on the Gaza Strip has been left without broadband. It gets 2 Mbps. The Department, in fairness to it, has sent the school laptops and all the gear that is required. It is like sending somebody the shell of a car without the engine; that is what has happened.

To put it simply, because I know a bit about this, broadband can be brought along a duct within 50 yd from three different sides. Funnily enough, all that the Department of Educations has ever said to the school is to go back to the service provider, but the service provider has not provided for this school and those children.Those 204 children in Ballinasloe matter as much as every child in other schools.

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