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

I have just come from the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, where we were discussing the contribution NBI is making. Subsequent to some further information that was brought to our attention today, there are some issues I want to highlight. The Government put a strong focus on rolling out broadband services to areas of the country that had a severe lack of any type of infrastructure around broadband. Community centres, with which the Minister of State would be familiar, primary schools and even some parish halls have been chosen as suitable locations for these facilities. An issue with these facilities was brought to my attention recently. I found it quite entertaining but it is a very valid point. In order to access these services people must receive a text message from a mobile phone provider but not only do many of these areas not have high-speed broadband access, they also do not have phone reception. It makes it impossible to access those services. I said this to the representatives from NBI. It is important that it looks at incorporating this into the national broadband plan. That is something I would like the Minister of State to look at. Multiple millions of euro have been invested to make this happen and it was supported by many Ministers. The former Minister, Deputy Naughten, who is in the Chamber, did a lot of work in this area, as did the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys. I compliment her on her very hard and diligent work to make this happen. That is welcome. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could take that point away. There are so many potential solutions that could be brought forward to deal with that area but all of this work is fruitless unless that reception issue can be addressed and solved. It would be a very poor investment from the State's point of view if people could not access these services.

My other point relates to rural businesses, such as those outside towns in rural constituencies like my own in Cork East. The M9 and the Cork to Dublin motorway are vital links for these businesses. They have attracted a lot of logistics companies into the area that require heavy goods transfers and other services so it is optimal for them to be located beside a motorway. Another problem we have is that we cannot get high-speed broadband in areas like Rathcormac. I do not mean to be too parochial in the House but that issue needs to be identified. We are very lucky that we have these sources of employment. In some cases the employers are hiring in excess of 100 employees. I come from Youghal. There is no private employer or business in Youghal town with over 100 people working in it at the moment and that is an issue we need to address. There are rural villages near the motorway with large businesses operating in them but they cannot get Internet and there is a two or three year wait. I do not need to harp on about how important access to high-speed broadband is but this is a State-led emergency intervention. In 2022, we need to look at ramping up that intervention and if private businesses of a sizeable scale want to sit down and consult NBI on the matter, that is something we as a Government should facilitate.

We all know how important high-speed broadband has been throughout the pandemic. I live in a secluded rural area and, unfortunately, we do not yet have a high-speed connection to our own home. We are in the same boat as many others and are relying on satellite broadband connections. The Government should also explore the expansion of that solution as part of NBI's work. While satellites do not provide the most stable connection, they are a short-term solution that provide additional high-speed broadband. That is one area that has to be incorporated into the plan. Satellites could also address phone connectivity issues. The ESB networks have a role to play in that regard and that is not being looked at as strongly as it could be. We could lose our electric line network for the provision of limited facilities to improve rural 4G services. There are swathes of the countryside where there is no coverage, no matter where you go in Ireland. Even driving on the motorways between our major cities, there are serious blackspots where there is no phone reception. That is a very important part of any business in today's world and its importance will continue to grow.

Deputy Conway-Walsh said something that hit home for me. She stated that there will be a significant wait, well into the mid 2020s, before a lot of rural areas receive any degree of connection. What concerns me, and I am right to be concerned about this, is what new technologies will be available when we reach that stage and whether this represents value for the State. It is important that we have an honest and frank conversation in a year's time with regard to that issue. I will leave the rest of my time to my colleague.

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