Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue I have raised in the House on numerous occasions, which is the roll-out of rural broadband. One thing Covid did was show how important that infrastructure is for rural areas. For businesses to prosper and for people to be able to work from home, that roll-out is essential. I had a businessman on to me last week and it typifies what is happening on the ground. John Hanly's woollen mills employs 35 people in a rural area. He was told his connection would happen between January 2023 and December 2024 and the contractor might be back to him with a further delay to that timescale. This timescale is completely unacceptable. The roll-out of rural broadband must be accelerated. It is essential to allow business and people to operate in rural Ireland.

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